The evening of the 30th March saw an assembly of sundry inebriates in the school hall, which for the duration was turned into a nightclub. The thin pretext for imbibing copious quantities of alchohol was to watch some of the more reckless members of the staff performing on the stage. The show, which mainly consisted of music with a little bit of comedy thrown in for good measure, was a great success.

The staff rallied to the cause and produced some stunning stuff. Opening the show was the dependable duo Soul Survivors aka Bridget Lyons & Geoff Lawrence who put everyone in the mood with their version of ‘Smooth Operator’.

The temporary name of the school hall for the event was Le Hot Club De Paris so Clare Morris decided that something French would be appropriate and treated us to her rendition of ‘Non Je Ne Regrette Rien’ which may have had some bearing on her thoughts about working at the E.I.C. Carolyn Chick, our music teacher, injected some class into the proceedings with a tune from ‘The Piano’ then Imogen got up and sang some beautiful songs by Purcell. Carolyn was then joined by her habitual partner Bob who wowed us with some more classy stuff.

Next up was the inimitable Mike Sutcliffe with some show stopping Flamenco guitar. Mike’s guitar playing is literally “world class” and us lesser mortals are grateful to be able to kiss the ground he walks on. After a well deserved standing ovation it was up to someone to follow him. As all the musicians refused point blank we sent Tony Holmes onto the stage. He entertained us with some Frank Sinatra and a quick Dean Martin which was a good excuse for a big slug of wine between songs. Tony is a true professional and as well as a great voice he has a palatable line in patter. Then it was time for me to make a fool of myself again aided and abetted by Bridget. Terry Nicholas gave us her views on being seventeen while most of us were trying to remember if we ever were, then Richard Sutcliffe did a Shadows number which I first heard when I was even younger than that. Then came Lewis Rossiter who sang Hotel California and then wisely got out of the way while I messed up the guitar solo.

Some of the staff, who should have known better earlier in the evening, were persuaded to sing again in the second half. We did manage, however, to break up the monotony with a little play from the Dunckleys. They showed us what life is like for the older generation. Some members of the audience felt that they, themselves, were the right age to have done the play without having to act.

The high spot of the show for me was the Flamenco dance by Anna Fitzsimmons, a breathtaking performance by any standards but for a foreigner to these shores - truly amazing!

It has been suggested that the staff show becomes a regular event. The last one was in 1984 so I’m sure everyone will be ready for another one in 17 years’ time.

Geoff Lawrence