In normal times, all across the country, barbershop choruses end their weekly practice sessions with a rousing anthem which begins: “Let’s get together again, for we’ve had a wonderful time…”
It has been 15 months since the Kings of Herts got together again, after their safety-first 2020 shutdown, so Thursday’s reunion of the Harpenden-based club was quite a wonderful time - a true cause for celebration.
The chorus re-assembled out of doors, but under cover, to find out if they could at last get back into rehearsal mode.
Memory for lyrics has suffered during the club showdown so members were asked to prepare by knocking the dust off three short songs - My Wild Irish Rose, Wait Till The Sun Shines Nellie and Sweet And Lovely.
In the end they worked their way through most of the chorus repertoire!
Verdict from chairman John Lough: “Rusty, obviously, but most encouraging. It’s not ideal to sing out of doors, socially distanced, in breezy conditions, but the guys took it in their stride.
“We push on now, hoping the time will soon arrive when we can get back indoors with complete focus on the singing, and, having lost a few members in the shutdown, we hope soon to be launching a recruitment campaign to boost our numbers.”
The Kings meet on Thursday nights at Wood End Junior School in Harpenden.
Male singers living in and around central Hertfordshire can make contact with the chorus by visiting the website https://www.kingsofherts.co.uk/contact-us
Applicants do not need to know how to read music.
Caption: No need to hold guns to anyone's head to get them singing again. It’s a temperature checker! Membership secretary Peter Philips okays vice chairman Mike Rose’s presence.
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