Wine, Women, and Song
… or in this case, whisky, brides-to-be and song!
If you ask any chorister the reasons why they sing with a choir, you will always hear ‘friendship and camaraderie’ high on their list. We are blessed in having some amazing singers in RMC. But just as importantly, we have great guys who are happy to play as hard as they work. They also have a sense of humour and a thirst for fun. So, it is no surprise that a good number of them jumped at the chance to come together for a “Jolly Boys’ Outing” and with the irrepressible Mike Sullivan (Baritone) in charge of social events, we all knew that we would be in for an enjoyable experience this August.
This year our social secretary had booked a coach to take us for a tour around Penderyn Distillery before travelling on to Brecon for the Jazz Festival. And so, Saturday the 19th August saw a very happy band of brothers catching a coach from our base in Risca, and with great expectations we headed towards Merthyr Tydfil. Just to be certain that our merry band kept to the straight and narrow, our man-of-the-cloth for the day, the very holy Trevor Baker, was on board and dressed for the occasion.
Our first stop, Penderyn, provided us with a very interesting tour and we learnt about the company’s early days. In the late 1990s, a group of friends met in a Hirwaun pub and got to talking about how great it would be to set up the first whisky distillery in Wales for over a century. The village of Penderyn was chosen as it had its own supply of fresh natural spring water. With a unique single-pot system designed by Dr David Faraday being installed in 2000, it wasn’t long before they were marketing and selling their whiskey under the Penderyn label.
Our tour revealed just how far the company has come with state-of-the-art equipment and a dedicated team of staff. On the whole, I think we were a fairly well-behaved bunch, so we were treated to a tasting session at the end of the tour.
Of course, RMC rarely travels anywhere without offering a song or two, and following the tasting session, we delighted our hosts with a reasonably sober and tuneful Men of Harlech, Calon Lân and Yma o Hyd. Then, with a brief farewell, it was back to the coach for the short journey to Brecon.
Brecon Jazz Festival was created in 1984 by a group of local enthusiasts. Over the last 39 years, famous musicians such as George Melly, Humphrey Lyttleton, Jools Holland and Stephane Grappelli have graced the many stages and venues there. Now, it is at this point that I would like to tell you of the brilliant musicianship and entertaining acts that we witnessed at this hallowed event. However, my mother taught me never to lie, and I must be honest here that, such was the thirst that my brothers had built, we didn’t actually leave the Clarence Inn. In truth, this was the end of the festival anyway, and there didn’t appear to be much in the way of concerts taking place.
Mike had booked a room at the Clarence, so we were able to spend the late afternoon and evening catching up with each other and generally putting the world to rights. With excellent food, a decent range of ales and great company, the time sped by and it was not long before the musical voices of Risca Male Choir were drifting through the pub.
On its many jaunts around the country, RMC have developed a tradition of singing a particular song that is designed to make individual ladies feel special. This has often been performed to newlyweds, and with one or two groups of hen parties circulating around Brecon, it was perhaps no surprise that a blushing bride-to-be ended up at the Clarence, on the knee of one of our choristers, as the choir sang Beautiful Brown Eyes. It was clear that this made the lady’s day and gave her friends plenty to talk about as they returned to their celebrations.
Following a few more songs (and one or two more beers) the somewhat merrier band of brothers made their way back to the coach and all were agreed that it had been a delightful day. Our thanks, as ever, to our excellent social secretary, Mike, for organising another successful day out.
Chris Denham – Baritone (far right in this picture!)
