RNLI Concert at Bridport United Church
5th April 2025
The choristers were pleasantly surprised when their coach trip to Bridport for the RNLI concert unexpectedly included a tour of Devon.
The journey, which should have taken only one hour, extended to two hours, encompassing Chinnock, Sturminster Newton, Misterton, Winterbourne Abbas, and the Dorchester ring road. It was the driver’s last day before retirement.
Although the delay disrupted the usual pre-concert rehearsals, it infused the event with a sense of fun and spontaneity. Performing alongside the Dorset Police Male Voice Choir was a real experience. Despite the crowded stage, the choristers delivered an outstanding performance, captivating the enthusiastic audience and thoroughly enjoying themselves.
The concert, hosted by the Bridport Rotary Club, raised an impressive £1,250 for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. Special thanks go to Tony
On behalf of our Club I would like to give our thanks and appreciation to a very enjoyable evening of wonderful singing from your two choirs. There has been a lot of positive feedback from members of the audience. They all went home with happier smiles on their faces than when they arrived! Please pass on our thanks to all concerned, the choristers, the accompanists and the musical directors
I was slightly concerned about getting 64 choristers on the stage and I apologise for the very tight fit. The church told me that 58 was the previous highest number, I think that 64 is unlikely to be beaten.
I have a few photographs taken on the night. They, plus a few others, will be on our website in the near future. I will send Taunton Choir the link to that when it's upand running.
Thank you once again and perhaps we might see you again sometime in the future.
Best wishes to you and all of your members.
Bernard
A note from Bernard Paull - President Elect Rotary Club of Bridport.
Young Bob Cowling
Bob has some claims to fame. He was born in St Olave's Hospital in Rotherhithe, South East London – the same hospital which had seen the birth of Sir Michael Caine some years earlier. He attended the same Sunday School as Tommy Steele and delivered newspapers to the parents of Max Bygraves.
As a young boy, he joined the choir of St Lawrence Jury in the City of London. Their services were held at St Mary Woolnoth since their own church had been badly damaged during the Blitz.
The church, restored in 1957, and its choir were significant to the city, being second only to St Paul’s Cathedral. This meant that, in addition to Sunday services and occasional weddings, he sang at services attended by the Lord Mayor for the many liveried companies in the square mile. He believed it was at one of these services that he was given his first solo, experienced a touch of
nerves and made a mistake. He has not sung on his own in public since.
By far the best service was attended by the City Aldermen, all dressed in their robes and tri-cornered hats, before they walked in procession to the Guildhall to elect the new Lord Mayor. Not only was this service the most rewarding financially, but it also meant a day off from school.
In addition to singing in the school choir, he was part of the London Schools Choir, which was formed to perform before the new Queen during Coronation year in 1953. Although he attended every rehearsal, including the final one on stage at the Royal Albert Hall, he was dropped from the performance and had to listen to the broadcast of the concert on the ‘wireless’.
Upon leaving school, he joined a firm of consulting engineers to train as a structural engineer. One of the girls in the Secretaries Office, Ann, invited him to her engagement party. A couple of years later, he attended her second engagement party – but this time, it was he who bought the ring. They married in 1964 and moved to Ash on the Surrey/Hampshire border. Just over three years later, their son was born at the military hospital in Aldershot.
With a family that he was seeing very little of, the daily trek to London and back became a chore. Now qualified as a Chartered Structural Engineer, he decided to look for local employment. This opportunity came in the form of a firm of consulting engineers in the water industry. In addition to doing structural design, he was given the chance to work on other aspects of the projects, leading to additional qualifications. Among the projects he contributed to were Rutland Water and the Lincoln Flood Alleviation Scheme.
His family decided to leave Ash and move to Wokingham. With the journey to London being slightly easier, Bob accepted an invitation to rejoin his original employer, working mainly on hospital projects. Unfortunately, in the early 1990s, a slump in the construction industry led to his being made redundant.
After being unemployed for over two years, he eventually found a job with a training company. For an initially low but very welcome salary, he took on various tasks, though training was not one of them. For several years, this included managing a youth training scheme, where government funding was used to train school leavers to become electricians and plumbers – a far cry from his own training.
With retirement approaching, it became clear that, with very little pension, living in Wokingham would be little more than existing. He and Ann decided they should downsize and move – but to where? As part of his job, he welcomed delegates to the various courses they ran.
These delegates came from all over the country, and he asked many of them to bring their local papers to check out the housing market. He
Just curious when we might include some contemporary music in the liturgy
was amazed at how many people were happy to oblige, and the results pointed them westward. In January 2005, he and Ann moved to Rockwell Green – a move neither of them regretted for a second.
He joined the bowls club, where he met people who introduced him to various new pastimes. Most importantly, he met Dai Helps. During a match in Hemyock, Dai told him about the choir and invited him to a rehearsal. With guidance, encouragement, and support from Dai, John Capell, and Tony Slavin, he became a dedicated member.
There have been many highlights during his time with the choir. Singing at the Royal Albert Hall went some way to making up for his teenage disappointment. Then there was Pegasus Bridge and the Menin Gate. Perhaps the most poignant was being invited by 40 Commando to take part in their Remembrance Service at Norton Manor Camp after they had suffered heavy losses in Afghanistan. This was both an honour and a privilege.
Next year, in addition to celebrating the choir’s 80th anniversary, he will mark twenty years as a member. He hopes to have a year or two left in him still.
How about never?
Does that work for you. Works for me.
Taunton Town Council elect new Mayor and Deputy Mayor and announce the 2025/2026 Mayor’s Charity of the Year
On Tuesday 6th May 2025, Taunton Town Council held their third Annual Meeting of Council at Taunton Minster. There were 215 people in attendance, with performances by Taunton Deane Male Voice Choir, the Canticle Choir, who performed Shalom Chaverim, Helena Payne, from Pleasure Dome Theatre and Somerset Opera, who performed Habanera accompanied by Miles Quick on the piano.
It was a fitting event to mark the end of a year of service by Councillor Vanessa Garside, Taunton Town Council’s second Mayor and to welcome Councillor Martin Straus, her former deputy as the Mayor of Taunton for 2025/26.
Julio Dumar and Councillor Martin Straus, the new Mayor, also performed moving Jewish prayers, in a first for Taunton Minster.
Councillor Garside said
“During my tenure as Mayor, I have had the privilege of meeting a huge number of our residents, representatives from our twin towns, Mayoral counterparts from surrounding towns and representatives of our Armed Forces to name but a few.
I was also honoured to be in post as Mayor during the inaugural Taunton Together event, which I am delighted to say was a huge success and will continue to flourish for years to come.
I know that I am passing the baton to a similarly passionate individual, who, like me, wishes to see the social and cultural side of Taunton go from strength to strength.”
Councillor Straus, the Mayor of Taunton said,
“I am humbled and honoured to take on the role of Mayor of Taunton, following in the footsteps of Alderman Myer Jacobs, the first Mayor of Taunton and also the only Jewish Mayor, until today.
I’ve had some practice as Deputy Mayor, so I know how busy the upcoming year will be and I am relishing it. I truly welcome the opportunity to act as an ambassador for this wonderful town, its businesses and other fantastic organisations as well as getting to meet so many of its passionate residents.”
Adrian Prior-Sankey, Lauraine Newcombe (Mayoress)
Martin Straus (Mayor of Taunton) Deputy Lieutenant Bev Fernandes (Deputy Mayor)
Nick - Bev's Consort
Richard Venn Sergeant at Mace.
Martin’s deputy for the year will be Councillor Bev Fernandes, who also holds the post of Armed Forces Champion for Taunton Town Council and Chair of the Community and Place Committee.
A cheque for £1,232.06 was presented to Diversity Voice, the Mayor’s charity for 2024/25. The funds were raised at various events, including carols around
the bandstand and the Taunton Deane Male Voice Choir, Winter Song event. Diversity Voice’s Project and Community Engagement Worker, Amy Mbanaso and Gary Francis, Chair of Trustees for the Community Council for Somerset thanked the former Mayor.
Martin named Bold and Brave, as his charity for 2025/26.
Two Choirs Performance at St German’s Church, Cardiff
A lovely trip to Cardiff for our next outing as a choir.
The event saw us singing with a most powerful choir of 61 choristers of the Cowbridge Male Voice Choir who organised the event.
The most remarkable acoustics of St German’s Church elevated the singing giving a full, rounded quality to the music.
The present church was designed by architect George Frederick Bodley as part of an architectural partnership Bodley & Garner. It was built between 1881 and 1884 and was consecrated in March 1886. The new parish of St German’s was created in the same month.
Among the many features, high on the south wall of the chancel is a finely carved organ case. It was recently restored and was given to the church by the Rev. Francis Edward Nugee, who spent most of the 1880s as a young curate in the parish of Roath.
In addition to the church there is a school and clergy house next door, built at the same time by the same architects.
Taunton Deane Male Voice Choir at Mayor Making Ceremony
Cowbridge Male Voice Choir is very important to the local community and has been so since its beginnings in 1971.
Some of the original singers still sing with the choir.
There are over 90 choristers and the choir has a repertoire that includes everything from traditional Welsh hymns to more modern foot-tappers.
Since 1971 Cowbridge Male Voice Choir has raised over £850,000 for charity. It has performed all over the UK and internationally in doing so.
It draws chorister members from a broad geography in and around the Vale of Glamorgan including Porthcawl, Newport, Llantwit Major, Rhoose, Barry, Pontyclun and elsewhere.
Cowbridge Male Voice Choir
The two accompanists Sandra Williams (Cowbridge) Mike Wager (Taunton)
Scott Williams Organist and Rhiannon Williams MD (Cowbridge)
Taunton Deane Male Voice Choir made welcome
Combined choirs
