The house was unnaturally quiet without Jane but I wasn’t ready to find a new lodger. I no longer needed the money and being alone again was no longer a cause for worrying.
I began to seriously consider Granny Wise’s suggestion. I had sung in the school choir, and even achieved a Grade 8, but as I became more interested in boys, my interest in singing had diminished. Maybe a choir would give me an outside interest.
There were several choirs within a ten-mile radius of my home, but many of them were associated with churches. I had no interest in religion and no desire to sing classical music. I wanted something that was fun and more popular. That narrowed my choice significantly.
Pagett Stamford was a village about seven miles away and the Pagett Singers promised to be a friendly group interested in singing popular music. I went for a trial session and enjoyed singing popular songs in harmony. It wasn’t a difficult decision to join up immediately.
The group was well served with female voices but was short of good male singers. There were three tenors and four bases. The base singers were all in their late forties or early fifties. One of the tenors was married to another soprano; a second was early twenties and the third was a widower in his sixties. For a moment I was disappointed that there was no one who might provide a romantic interest. However, I did enjoy the singing and that was my main reason for being with the group.
We were preparing for a concert the day before Valentine’s Day but I was concerned I didn’t know the words of all the songs. I apologised to the leader for letting her down, but I wouldn’t take part in the concert this time.
The choir performed excellently at the concert, which was in aid of a Hospice charity. I felt I had played my part by selling programs and serving refreshments.