Tuesday 2nd July 1996:
John Chillingworth writes ~
On 20th June 1996, the occasion of the Abbeyfield Society’s 40th Anniversary, a concert was arranged by the Warminster Committee. The ladies and gentlemen of the Warminster Singers, one of whom is our own St. John’s Choir member, David Miles, brought great pleasure to some thirty residents and guests.
The Singers’ enthusiasm and joy was infectious as they performed for an audience that included Abbeyfield resident Mrs Faith Edwards, a regular attender at St. John’s Church.
Amongst the feast of ‘memory lane’ songs, Maisy’s amusing soubrette performance of ‘My Little Alice Blue Gown’ received spirited audience participation. The Singers interlaced their renditions of old popular ballads with amusing monologues, which included Beryl’s recitation of ‘When Father Laid The Carpet On The Stairs’.
When Bella, with her wonderful Wiltshire accent, delivered ‘The Day Me Old Cows Got Drunk’, there were many chuckles from the appreciative residents and guests.
Warminster’s former Mayor, Mrs Ann Coventry, once a member of St. John’s Church Choir, narrowly avoided being ‘dragged’ from the audience to give an impromptu solo!
At the reception after the concert, guests learned that the Abbeyfield is a world-wide society, under the patronage of HRH The Prince of Wales. It is a voluntary, caring organisation that accommodates older people in friendly, non-institutional ‘family’ homes.