STUNNING SUCCESS ON FIRST NIGHT BACK!

LIFE RETURNING TO NORMAL

Thursday 22 July 2021 was a very significant day, after 16 months and 28 days, life returned to something like normal when we attended the first meeting of the South Yorkshire branch. The last meeting took place on 24 February 2020 at the Ward Green WMC and now we were back again at a new venue and under new leadership.

A NEW BRANCH LEADER

Branch organiser, Cathy Staniland welcomed one and all to the first Thursday night concert and I am delighted to say that the room was full of enthusiastic George Formby fans and not forgetting fans of the ukulele. In the time we have all endured the pandemic lockdowns Cathy has been busy developing the social media page of the branch and now there are members all over the UK, not just in the local area. I believe that she has even encouraged overseas friends to join. This can only be good, I have always believed that we should look outwards rather than just looking in. Consequently, on this very special first night, we were delighted to welcome GFS founder member John Walley and his dear wife Gill. They made a round-trip journey of at least 160 miles to be there and enjoyed a warm welcome. John brought his iconic "Window Cleaner" uke with him and played the song that GF featured with the same instrument in the film, "Keep Your Seats Please."

A NEW VENUE

The new venue, The Boatman's Rest, is easy to find and Cathy has excelled in locating this popular pub. Whereas at the last venue there was a large empty space between the audience and the artist who was on a very large stage, the room at the Boatman's Rest is much smaller and all the better for it. The atmosphere is great and the lack of a 'proper' stage does not detract one bit from enjoying all the performers. Before the meeting commenced, we were all treated to very tasty pie and peas which set everyone up for the top-class entertainment that took us all through the evening before the final "Leaning On A Lamp Post" thrash brought a great night to a close around 11 pm.

PROFESSIONAL PERFORMANCES

Everyone who took to the stage, performed as if there had been no lay-off at all. A professional performance from one and all made the occasion such a pleasure to be a part of.

SAFETY FIRST!

Cathy's organisational skills certainly helped to make the night a resounding success and her always entertaining introductions of the performers and then her lovely performance highlighted what a valuable asset she is to the branch. It was safety first throughout the evening with microphone stands wiped with anti-septic wipes after every performance and microphone covers replaced after every artist and bottles of anti-septic hand-wash never far from one's reach.

NOTES MAY BE TAKEN

GFS Vice-President Andy Poppleton was with us all evening and will surely be able to give the rest of the GFS committee many reassurances when they meet to discuss and organise the highly anticipated September Blackpool convention. There has been some concern that the GFS might suffer because of the very long lay-off that we have all had to endure but on the evidence of this first night, the future looks bright.

THE SHUTTLEWORTH SNAP

Fred Austin was a welcome sight along with his Shuttleworth Snap motorbike which he kindly brought along to the previous week's Barnsley Chronicle publicity photoshoot and also for this evening's first concert.

THE LADS ON THE SOUND

I cannot end this report without mentioning two others who also played a vital role in the success of the evening. Kevin Staniland and Tom Fletcher on the sound desk worked well together and because we have a new system of supplying the backing music via a laptop computer with tracks donated by many of the members so that a library is now held by the branch for the benefit of all. No phones or tablets or mini-discs need to be handled which ensures the further safety of the sound team. Kevin and Tom worked well together without any mishaps. The sound was all it should be with no feedback or any other issues that one hears everywhere else. Even though the backing track venture was completely new Tom was on top of his game and the music started exactly at the right time every time. Tom had made sure that every track was at the same volume level even though they had all come from different sources. The two lads had worked for days before the event to make sure everything would be right on the night and they can take equal share of all the praise that everyone gave on the night and here in this report. A great night thoroughly enjoyed by all and long may it continue. WE ARE BACK! PP 28/07/2021