Sheila's Surprise!

 Last night some of the 'Thursday Night Gang' were invited to share an evening with Sheila and Keith Denny,  their family and friends, It was a wonderful evening such a great family thanks especially to the girls who set it up and done the buffet, well done to you all, must not miss the boys out, and all the children who provided many a happy laugh while they played and danced to the music, so well behaved I must say. It was such a pleasure to be invited. The photos are not great but this is Sheila arriving, dear lady she will be a while before it all sinks in I expect and opening the gifts as well.

 Simon, one of Sheila's sons plays with Cool Blue, and they provided a rather special evening of music, which included… Ray Simmons playing the piano for Shelia's grandaughter to sing a beautiful show song, what a lovely voice that young lady has…Chris Cappoci on the trombone… Simon and Ray did a few songs which they had never done before, very moving.  The music was so good all the evening so thank you all.

Whoops Barry I know you do not like to be smiling in a photo but I seem to have the light in front of you, great piano playing.

Thank you June for driving, and thanks to all the great company, a lovely evening to celebrate a wonderful lady who through all things manages to keep smiling and who I am proud to call a friend, may you continue on to the next birthday with happiness and good health, you are well loved by us all Sheila.

The Pavilion Ditchingham

Once again a great evening of jazz by the Sole Bay Band, thanks guys you were rocking again! A different line up and so a nice mix of music. Simon giving us some great songs as well.

 Craig as always some really good drumming and smiles! Peter did a couple of numbers before the break as well.

 A serious photo of Ray I should have had the camera with me later because we got some nice grins…lovely piano playing Ray…Alan and Tony giving some really good backing and looked like you all were having fun…Derek you were so good, I thought I had a photo but lost it somewhere… but you are always a pleasure to listen to…

 Tim playing great on the clarinet and later the saxophone, again as always, lovely sounds…

 Now you will think this is a Simon fest, but it is for his young lady who looks in, and of course it is a pleasure to take his photo, so enjoy…and I do even at my age, I call him my 3rd Son…

The Cornet playing was great…

The singing very good as well of course…

Lovely night again lots of friends and good company, nice to see the folk who have had ops of late, doing very well, keep it up.

See you next week I hope, soon be April my goodness where did March go?

More jazz from 'Cool Blue'

The Butchers Arms on London Road in Beccles, is once again hosting a gig by "Cool Blue" on Sunday April the 1st, 

so hope they get another good crowd to support them as they 

did last time they played, it is always hard to find a good venue and they seem to have found one, so go along and enjoy the music, live music is so good.

Start time 1.30-4pm

Make a date…

This coming Thursday 29th March at the Pavilion, Ditchingham…

Alan has got another good line up for all us Jazz fans, so hope to see as many as possible there to support the Sole Bay Jazz.

Tim Densham…clarinet/saxophone…
Tony Jullings…double bass…

Alan Cugnoni…guitar/banjo…

With guests this week…Derek Cubitt…reeds…
Craig Hipperson…drums…

Simon Nelson…trumpet/vocals… 

As always one never knows who else may come along and add to the line up, start time 8pm-10.30pm

Footwarmers gig Sunday lunchtime…

 Just a few photos of the jazz at the Beccles Conservative Club on Sunday lunchtime, here's Mike back after his hols!

 Dave on the drums…

 Barbara …Banjo playing that is really great… and always a smile…

 Tim, sorry not a good one of you, but you were hiding behind the post, great solo, think the applause told you how good it was.

 Tony his double bass playing always so good and the duo with Dave was very very good.

 Chris giving a blast on his trombone and having fun!

 Roy sang us a song putting his all into it as usual thanks Roy…

Chris giving a few songs as well. sorry I did not get a good photo of Bill on the piano and singing very good though Bill.

All in all a very fun lunchtime, good music and company, and I expect a lot of folk running a business would like a nice full place like that on a sunny Sunday afternoon, lovely to see a nice crowd.

Soon be time for the Bowls to start and then the green and gardens are a pleasure to sit and watch the bowls or smell and see the glorious Wisteria which will soon be in bloom.

ALL THAT JAZZ…

 Just when you think the jazz at the Pavilion Ditchingham cannot get any better… it does! Tim and Tony making good sounds…

 Neil and Bill (welcome back Bill) following on!

 Alan and Mike (another welcome back) loved the singing as well…

Then the battery ran out on the camera, but could not resist Ray's grin on this and Trummy I missed you playing on this one…but got a sort of photo!

It was like a blast from the past to have Bill and Mike back again, and they looked like they enjoyed it, I know the audience certainly did, what a great night once again thanks gentlemen you were stars.

Simon Denny popped in and gave us some very smoochy songs, nice to see you Simon.

Nice to see you back June, but Les you will have to rein her in a bit that knee will take time, consider yourself told off.

Hope Keith who fell off his bike will soon be well enough to get back, honestly young man at your age you should know better, thanks Don for bringing us up to date on the dear man.

Also our Keith who is struggling with poor health at the moment keep improving Keith, Sheila you are a wonder, glad you are feeling a bit better.

Heidi hope you find my blog OK and have a giggle, you were lovely as always.

Thank June R for the lift and the giggles, as always. and Happy Birthday Peter glad you liked the tribute to you, always there to support the band.

We missed you Colin and Duncan… you missed a good night sorry…

Another wonderful night and nice to see some of the wives of the band coming along as well, great as always to see so many good friends a lovely night out.

Looking forward to next week already…

Sunday some of the Sole Bay will be playing with the Footwarmers, so do pop along to the Conservative Club in Beccles…for another fun lunch time.   12 noon-3pm.

Goings on in the Beccles area!

This weekend at the Beccles Conservative Club "Richie Munroe" is entertaining on Saturday night, tickets available at the bar. The Directors work hard to get entertainment in the lovely old building, soon there will be Bowls on the very lush green, a very nice way to spend an afternoon when the bowls players are there, you can be  sitting round the green in the sunshine with well kept gardens around you,

Then on Sunday lunchtime we have the "The Footwarmers", Trad Jazz with a load of fun thrown in, so hope they get a good crowd for both.

These venues need to be used otherwise they will close, and we have lost a lot of good places in Beccles over the past years, so go along and support.

This evening as you saw in the last post, is Jazz by the "Sole Bay" at the Pavilion in Ditchingham, always a great night.

So put the tape recorder on if you can find anything on the TV and get out and about.

EARLY NOTIFICATION OF YET ANOTHER GREAT JAZZ NIGHT.

I feel that I must post this early and will give you all a reminder later in the week, as Alan has managed to get together another great line up 

for Thursday 22nd March…at the Ditchingham Pavilion.  

We must thank Alan for all the organization in finding a different line up each week 

I wonder if Jon realized when he agreed to let the Sole Bay use the pavilion what a good crop of musicians the Sole Bay could  rustle up, I do hope he never regrets it.

I think I can say from all us fans new and old, we love it there and long may it continue, I know people realise how lucky we are to be able to listen to such good music every week, I also know how the band appreciates the good crowd that  attends week after week.

This one will be rather special to the regular folk who have followed these musicians 

over the years, so here goes:-

We have …Alan Cugnoni…guitar/banjo…Neil Kane…drums…

Tony Jullings…double bass…Tim Densham…saxophone/clarinet…

Dick (Trummy) Mayhew…trombone…Ray Simmons…piano…

That would be good…but with them a welcome back to…

Mike Leigh…trumpet, and could we hope for some singing?…

and last but not least back from Australia … playing again …Bill Skinner on saxophone…

 8pm-10.30pm 

"Jazz Personification"

Once again I am on here to give a report on the Sole Bay Jazz played last night at the Pavilion and I am sorry to repeat myself… but it gets better and better.

What a great night of music… and good company …you would have to go a long way to have a treat as we did again last night.

 Beside the line up that I posted, Ron Hockett joined the band again and so we had eight great muscians plus another as you will see…each with their own special gifts.

Loved the three clarinets gentlemen very melodious harmony!

 Neil,Tim and Alan, sorry about the quality of the photos need to get nearer, but do not like to disturb the crowd. whoops missed Tony and his double bass off this week.

 Ray tinkling the ivories and then his brother Chris gave us a few melodies, what a pleasure to have so many gifted musicians to entertain us.

So yet another night of pleasure given to us by the Sole Bay and guests, also we had Tony who plays the trombone giving us some lovely singing and one song especially for Stella who had a birthday, and she had her favourite tune played. You certainly made her night.

Then Roy sang us two songs, and later on Chris gave us two more, so all in all a really different night. Lots of talent around.

Everywhere was busy as there was a football match on outside, so we had a lot of folk looking in and hopefully some may decide to pop in again even without the football, they certainly could not have had a better evening to hear such music.

Jon and Marilyn as usual looking after everyone, and there were a lot to look after…well done Heidi you worked that bar with a smile all night!

Thanks as always for the lift June and everyone there for the good company.

Just like to say hope to see you back soon after your knee op June and Les we missed you , sorry it is so painful June, but you will soon be back bopping!

Hope all goes well for anyone who is not feeling good at  the moment and unable to come to the jazz, Keith what the devil did you fall off your bike for?  but hope everyone will be fighting fit soon.

If you look in Andy or any of the dance folk we miss you …hope all is well.

The line up I will put on as soon as I know it …I am sure it will be another good one, so see you next Thursday night.

Line up for Thursday 15th March

Oh dear a late line up! Sorry I forgot to ask Alan and he forgot to tell me, but never mind here it is another good one:-  Thank you for the several reminders! Oh dear and thanks Duncan for checking and seeing I had left dear Tony out, it would not be the same without him!

Tomorrow night will be Alan Cugnoni…Banjo/Guitar…

Neil Kane…Drums…

Tim Densham…Clarinet/Saxophone…

Tony Jullings… Double Bass… 

With them we have Ray Simmons… on the Piano…

or rather playing it! 

Derek Cubitt…Reeds…Tony Parsons…Trombone…

and a song or two we hope.

So hope to see a nice lot of people to support these fine musicians.

Flowers

 Working in the garden yesterday thought it really does feel like Spring…Seeing the Violets…

 Camelia's although they are tinged with the frost they are still lovely…

 Crocus…Daffoldils… and Tulips soon to bloom… Spring must be on the way.

Has Spring Sprung?

This morning looking out of the window I realised how the birds are finding this weather of ours so strange, however I have blackbirds, blue tits, robins and the return of the lovely goldfinches that came last year.

They are enjoying finding some bugs from my garden foliage and flitting around singing away on this bright sunny morning.

So with dafffodils, violets, crocus and other lovely spring flowers poking through the soil it is with hope that spring has sprung, but of course we must prepare for our British weather to turn on us, but I will enjoy this little glimmer of Spring!

It lets me catch up on all the garden work, and makes the thought of garden centres flit in the mind…

Thoughts Sad and Happy…

This really is not meant to be a sad post just a few thoughts  tumbling around in my head that need to come out!

It is rather personal but I need to put it down and where else but on my blog which keeps me company many a long hour… I know there are many people who have loved ones that have passed on to a different world…thinking especially  of those soldiers who have recently lost their lives looking after the interests of us all… I suppose they are what has made my thoughts turn to writing this. Watching those brave wives and mothers speaking on TV last evening.

So I just wanted to share my thoughts today, it is a kind of sad day, being my brother Derek's birthday, but we can only wish him love in our thoughts, because we are no longer able to touch him , only in our hearts.

My dear sister in law, her daughter, hubby and grandson, with my other brother will be thinking of him, we all know he is in safe hands and I hope my dear hubby and him are having a game of snooker together, up there amongst the stars.

Memories are what we are left with, and some great ones stay with us all, so Happy Birthday dear Bruv, we will look after each other until we all meet again.

To all those who need to rely on memories, a few happy thoughts… remember the good times… take one day at a time … and make the most of life… Put a smile on your face as you go along the way it costs nothing and helps others… as the old song goes" Be Happy", now I will have that tune going around in my head all day!

Thursday 8th March……………………Sole Bay Jazz

 A few photos from last night, I am sorry they did not come out so good this week,

but you know what everyone looks like by now!

Tim and Tony giving us some lovely jazz, had to take individual photos as there seemed a lot of players, sorry the one of you Alan, you would not have liked it, will do better next week.

 Ron with Ray giving us some great sounds., in fact so much good music from everyone, pity I cannot put how great it all was in words, but you can always come and join in and hear for yourselves.

 Bill you played so well, Neil looks like  half your drums are missing? are you wondering where they are! Will really have to try harder with my camera.

We had a good line up to start with, and  Ron Hockett turned up, a nice surprise…so even better then, as all the band played so well together, and the sound was great. 

The band looked like they enjoyed it as much as we did. Although my photos do not show that!

Not so many folk about last night but most of the  regulars came to support… those who were there certainly appreciated the music, always different sounds with the mix of players. Several newcomers I was pleased to note… hope you all enjoyed it and will give us another look next week.

Roy gave us some really upbeat songs to add to the enjoyment.

Thanks as always for the lift June and the fun, and cheeky Duncan and Colin, a really friendly crowd we have and such a good place at the Pavilion with Jon. Marilyn and Heida looking after all our needs...

Already looking forward to next week…

Jazz

Last nights jazz report will be here after I have been shopping; watch this space it was quite an evening!

SMILE !

Yesterday afternoon I was feeling rather sad and sorry for myself when my niece popped in with this little one. 

However I soon felt better with a hug, kiss and a face pulled to make me laugh from this young man. Thanks Liz you both made my day.

Sole Bay Jazz Thursday 8th March…

I hope you have all enjoyed the rain! I know we needed it but it came down rather hard for a while, still the forecast says by Thursday it will be fine, so hope the good weather will bring you all out to the Pavilion to listen to the Jazz.

Good line up once again, with Alan Cugnoni on Banjo/Guitar…

Tony Jullings with his Double Bass… Neil Kane on the Drums…

Front line this week is Tim Densham… Clarinet and Saxophones…

Ray Simmons back with his great Trumpet playing…

And last but not least with his  lovely Trombone playing is Bill Brewer …

Hopefully one of our good singers will pop by and give us a few melodies.

If you have not yet found the Pavilion and I note we still have a few of the regulars that have not, you are missing some great jazz and good company, so make an effort and come and enjoy a fun evening.

Start time at the moment is 8pm until 10.30pm

Norfolk Dixieland Jazz Band

 What a lovely way to spend a Sunday Lunchtime  when the weather outside is pouring with rain and windy. 

I was in Coltishall at the Diplomat thank you Tim for taking me, and for lunch!

They look so smart in their Blue and Yellow… 

The jazz was really good lots of different numbers, some great playing, I love the guitar and Pete made it sing this week.

With Vic giving the beat on the drums.

 Bill very melodic as usual, looking forward to seeing you again on Thursday with the Sole Bay.

 Liz sorry not the best one of you, as you are rather lovely, but the bass playing was soooo good, and Pete on the banjo great Dad and Daughter bonding.

John singing some great jazz songs. Also one  from Pete.

Thanks as always to Jean and Judy who make me welcome and put up with my chat, and Ben we did not do very well with the quiz again!

As always the folk who follow the jazz are like a big happy family and I am so lucky that they include me, so thanks one and all, see you soon I hope.

Sole Bay Jazz

 A few photos of last night at the Pavilion another good night of jazz, a bit quieter than usual in the first half, but gathered to a great finish in the second half!. Great drumming Craig as usual. Tony is hiding again…

 Derek with his bright shirt was very cheerful…and loved Tim and him playing some jazz with the two clarinets it was really great…

Chris and Alan working well…and Chris sang some really good numbers as well.

Lovely company as always, nice to see not only the regulars, but some new faces popping in.

Good luck to one of our ladies who is having an operation on her knee next week, 

we will be thinking of you…

And thanks June for the lift and the laughter…

Roll on next Thursday.