STRIKE UP THE BAND

Right. Something weird is happening. There are loads of musical opportunities emerging - from work.

I need to be careful. What's happened is that suddenly people have worked out that I'm vaguely musical. One of my colleagues wants me to deputise as the keyboard player in a big band swing time orchestra he belongs to. I'd love that! Another lady thought I could help her improve her singing and maybe be an MD for her band, which she told me, has no outright leader. That would be so much fun (hard work though) for all sorts of reasons. Still others want me to join their woodwind ensemble (although quite why, I'm not sure).

What does all this mean? It means I need to protect my diary. By the way, I haven't said yes to any of these things and I don't intend to. Sometimes things can be fun, but not necessarily good for you. You have to be wise to separate out the enjoyable from the exhausting. More than that though, you have to be focused on the things you've been asked to do.

What we are doing here though, is another round of Christmas carols at work. Last year a few of us played carols at the end of our Christmas lunch at the Spring Inn. It went down uproariously and amidst the tipsy belting of fa-la-la-la-las and glorias, we raised over £300 for charity. Needless to say, people are keen to do it again. The first practice is tomorrow. The lunch is on December 16th.

So, apologies all you First Day Adventists. Once again, the festive season, the crazy carol-playing carousel of Christmas classics has had to begin before December and you've got to hear about it. Well, I for one, love it, but I appreciate not everyone wants to think about festivities too soon. I'd stay away from the training room tomorrow lunchtime if I were you.

As for the other opportunities, I do wonder whether I might be missing out on something. There are so many things I'd like to do, including being part of a band or just slipping into the clarinet section of an ensemble or even joining an amateur dramatics club! But I can't do everything.