What a lovely weekend we had in "The Home of the Cock", Dorking, to celebrate the entry into dotage of our old, old, old friend Lou!
Madam Arcati and I had eschewed the preferred choice of a Travelodge, where a few of the gang stayed, in favour of the rather lovely White Horse Inn slap bang in the centre of the old town [as had John-John] - and we were very glad we did, as the room was lovely and quiet, the bed was the most comfortable we'd ever slept on, the shower was brilliant (as were the towels) and, had we only managed to get the mysteriously gadgety coffee machine to work in the morning, it would rate as the most enjoyable hotel stay we've had in years.
By the nature of its location, it also became the de facto watering-hole for the "gathering of the clans". As we did, before trolling off to the birthday girl's party venue down the road.
She certainly seems to know everyone in town, as the place was packed! Just as well, as someone needed to eat the completely OTT cheese buffet:
A good time was had by all. We were there to the bitter end, by which time we'd drunk the bar dry!
However, the fun didn't end there...
...for on Sunday, after having been unceremoniously roused from my slumber in order to yomp up a hill and join the remains of the gang [several had already headed home] for breakfast [all I really wanted was a gallon of coffee, tbh, but I managed to eat a few solids], and after a few "hairs of the dog" back in the White Horse, we had a matinee to go to at the faboo Dorking Halls - for 100 Years of Big Bands with the LP Swing Orchestra!
“Swing, sophistication and sass. The ultimate orchestra with an unrivalled sound.” - Dame Joan Collins
In its thirty-five year history, the 17-piece Len Phillips Big Band has played numerous prestigious venues, large (The Royal Albert Hall, The Ritz) and small (they have a long-standing residency with Warner Hotels), and collaborated with numerous famous names including the Puppini Sisters, Clare Teal, Joe Stilgoe, Gary Wilmot, Len Goodman, Paul Jones and Mica Paris. In 2021, the band rebranded and updated to become the LP Swing Orchestra.
Joining them, and their multi-talented MC, conductor, cornetist and occasional vocalist Georgina Jackson were two very splendid vocalists...
Matt Ford, famous for his appearances on BBC Radio 3's Friday Night is Music Night, and his work with the Syd Lawrence Orchestra, the John Wilson Orchestra (including at The Proms), amongst many other achievements, is certainly a most versatile swing vocalist, taking on the styles and mannerisms of everyone from Cab Calloway to Sinatra to Sammy Davis Junior to Michael Buble with aplomb. He was fab!
However, it was Nicola Emmanuelle with her crystal clear voice who really stole the show! A stalwart of jazz and swing ensembles including the LSPO, she famously starred as Ella Fitzgerald in The Rat Pack in the West End - and indeed, when she sang, it was as if a young Ella was actually there in person on stage in Dorking!
As it "said on the tin", we were treated to a cornucopia of Big Band swing numbers; everything from the early days of the Paul Whiteman Orchestra, Louis Armstrong and the aforementioned Cab Calloway, through the golden age of Harry James, Duke Ellington, Stan Kenton, Gene Krupa, Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller, to the post-war era of The Rat Pack, Count Basie, Peggy Lee and Ella's "Great American Songbooks", and the "leaner years" - up against the rise of Rock'n'Roll and Pop music - with Henry Mancini and Maynard Ferguson, all the way to the more modern revivalists like Michael Bublé and Harry Connick Jr.
Utterly brilliant! Understandably, after lunchtime libations, we were up and dancing in the aisles...
...but meeting the adorable Miss Emmanuelle after the show was the icing on the cake:
The perfect way to end a great weekend!
