MS Concert 2001

During 2000 I became Chairman of a local registered Charity CHARMS - The last two letters of the title describe the nature of the charity's aims and purposes which primarily are the relief of Multiple Sclerosis, a medical condition that has had a profound impact on mine and Valerie's lives.

Valerie suggested that we could perhaps bring out of the locker some of the folk songs that we had performed in earlier years and put on an evenings entertainment for the friends and members of CHARMS.

Once Valerie had worked out just how she wanted to produce the show we got down to sourcing the various musical items we wanted and worked out playlists for the two eventual themes which you can see in the poster.

We had all the necessary sound equipment, costumes, guitars and Valerie sourced relevant CD sound clips associated with the 2 chosen themes ie. steam engine, railway, sea and sailing vessel sounds. These clips, along with a spoken introduction then separated the songs that I performed. The introductions, which were written by Valerie, along with a relevant sound clips led into songs which eventually took the audiance through a period of time of about 100 years or more. The start point of each set was circa 1850's and along with 8 or 9 songs, described the industrial and seafaring industries up to the present day.

The concert lasted for about 2 1/2 hours with a mid show break, and was highly appreciated by all who attended.

Brian & Valerie.