Wakefield Ridings Yorks Air Ambulance Gig

April 2023

by Philip Barr. Photos & Videos, Dr Pritti and David Blackburn and Phil.

Wakeylele Return!

Wakeylele Wows Ridings Centre Shoppers!

 14th April, 2023.

Those of you who have seen  blue cycling signs dotted round the area may know that WoW stands for Wonders of Wakefield and while the band may at present not feature in the list, it was nevertheless the intention to wow  Friday morning\’s Riding\’s shoppers. Weather – wise, the week, to date had seen frequent showers and in the South West, storms had meant that Mike Hindley, holidaying in his caravan, was fortunate, according to reports, not to be hurled over the edge of a Cornish cliff while he was enjoying a cream tea with his wife.

   Eleven o clock approached, and there was  just one notable absentee, but Richard, the back row specialist arrived just in time for the group photo and we were ready to go. David, meanwhile, was in reflective mood, surmising what a great feeling it must feel like to conduct a talented orchestra about to embark on Beethoven\’s 9th symphony; (similar to introducing the Wakeylele Medley, I would imagine).

  Back to reality and the first set was rolled out with the now expected level of enthusiasm. The onset of the British holiday season was represented by  The Blackpool Belle, the first time this has featured in a gig for quite a while. Country Roads also appeared as a nice contrast while Mike Carr would have approved of the tight performance of Come Up and See Me, which coincided with not only the first significant applause of the day but also the frequent contributions of coins to the YAA buckets.

But.. there was a slight hiccup when someone, no doubt high on adrenaline, came in a bar to soon on David\’s piece de resistance, the Weather medley. (I hasten to add that John W and his distinguished beard were certainly not responsible for this blip,  and one positive is surely the fact that a medley containing several tricky chord sequences should be seen fit by David to be  included. There followed a brief, and to the rest of us, amusing moment when Pop had to delve into his music files to find his copy of Enjoy Yourself which he hadn\’t appreciated was on the set list; this was not helped by the deep shadow cast by his sombrero but at least he didn\’t swallow his plectrum in the process and while on the subject of hats, mention must be made of Thelma\’s fetching straw hat and Stuart\’s suave trilby which perhaps just edged Joe\’s in the style stakes.

 The generous interval was appreciated by everyone,  not least those who were able to take advantage of a tea or any version of decent  coffee along with a toasted tea cake for £3.55 at the nearby cafe. Hot drinks were certainly needed to keep frostbite at bay, and it might even be an idea to pack a hot water bottle next time – in fact Peter Joule proposed that money in the subs kitty could be used for the purchase of overcoats. 

  Into the afternoon  and with the band suitably replenished, the second half kicked off with Honolulu Baby, which  proved to be the stepping stone to the liveliest phase of the gig as a group of young people provided boisterous  and warm hearted support with a girl in a wheelchair taking obvious delight in being an active part of the show. The tempo was then maintained, especially with the Coconut song, which once again was accompanied by enthusiastic support from the audience.  The remainder of the set went without a hitch and so another satisfactory performance rolled smoothly on to its conclusion. 

 Many thanks to the ever accommodating YAA volunteers, as well as to David of course , who just the other night was commenting with pride on the camaraderie within the group – our new or newish members have all slotted effortlessly into the band – Val, Magz, Melvyn and Dave F,  Stuart and Tony ( now almost an old hand),  giving us the numbers and quality to allow for the considerable amount of globetrotting which is gathering pace now that covid is less threatening.

  Next up, ( apart from the get together at the Spring on 24th April) is the Walton / Newmillerdam Coronation jamboree on Sunday, 7th May, details tbc.