Thanks to the Suffolk County Council Locality Budget of Cllr Jessica Fleming, EATMT held its second Sunday afternoon of Music, Song and Dance – this time in Walsham le Willows’ Memorial Hall.

This was the second Sunday afternoon of music, song and dance organised by Jan Robinson on behalf of EATMT. As it was a free event, there was the inevitable nail biting in the hope that people who said they would come along did actually turn up to sing, say, play, dance and watch and they did with additional performers! Almost 90 people came through the doors which opened at 1.30pm for a 2pm start. Some had gone to considerable lengths to get here – closed roads and floods being a regular feature arriving in the village of Walsham le Willows.

The Stanton Folk group, organised by Pip and Colin Bedford who have been supporters of the Trust for many years, kicked our afternoon off. Nine musicians from the group turned up and played at various points throughout the afternoon. Jig Dolls and Stepdancing accompanied songs and tunes.

Following on from the Stanton Folk Group, we were treated to performances from: Mossy Christian and Megan Wisdom – both as a duo and separately, Peter Everson, Angela Collins, Eammon Andrews, Ray Hubbard, Adrian and Sue Carlton, Michael Czarnobaj, David Cotter, Doreen West, Tracey Wisdom, Eric Baker, Mike Acott, Pam Ross, Sue Lawrence, Janet, Ron Ross, The Shelfhanger Singers, Gwyn Thomas, Pete Cunningham, Jenny and Nina.

As ever, these events do not happen without the many pairs of hands in the background leading up to the event and on the day. So a huge thanks to Jan Robinson who did the bulk of the organising and promoting of this event. On the day, our thanks to Andy, Rita, Lynda, Dimity, Michael, Eammon, David and Mark for their work in setting up/packing away of chairs and tables and running the kitchen. Our MC, Shirley Harry expertly juggled offers of performances and made the introductions. Mossy Christian, with his glamorous assistant Megan Wisdom set up his “One Row Records” stall which proved very popular with the audience. We were also joined by young students Evie and Asha who volunteered to make cakes and help on the day as part of their Duke of Edinburgh Award (Bronze).

And what a great audience we had too – a receptive audience makes such a difference to performers who offer to stand up and sing a song, play a tune, tell a story or dance and without such an audience, our performers would not have felt comfortable enough to step up to the challenge. A number of the audience were new to the Trust and everyone donated generously – on the door and for the raffle as well as treating themselves to the teas and cakes on offer.

We will be running another Sunday Afternoon of Music, Song and Dance on 24th March 2024 back at Walsham le Willows Memorial Hall. Check out the Events Page for up to date information in the coming months.