When you sing and entertain outdoors as much as I do during what we laughingly refer to as ‘the summer months’ in this country, you learn to keep a firm eye on the weather forecast. No more so than the decidedly unseasonal weather we’ve all been enduring these past few weeks. I’ve done more shivering than basking in any sunshine, that’s for sure – and it’s the events themselves I feel most sorry for. Bad weather undoubtedly keeps visitor numbers lower – but, paradoxically, it also serves to highlight the ‘keep calm and carry on’ spirit of the British. I suppose living on a generally inclimate island has helped forge us as a nation. Are we going to let a little bit of rain put us off? Are we ‘eck as like, as they say where I hail from (pun fully intended).
Take Severn Valley Railway this past weekend, as I write. Spread over successive weekends at the end of June and the first one in July, it wasn’t being hopeful to expect the best of the summer weather for it. But no. In keeping with the way things have been since the middle of May, it was a case of at least three seasons in one day - warm one minute, not so warm the next, and heavy downpours in between. Was that going to put off folk from donning their 1940s finery and riding the trains between Kidderminster and Bridgnorth, stopping off to mill around the several stations along the way and catch the entertainment? No, it most certainly was not. A steady stream of passengers arrived and departed from Bridgnorth Station, one end of the line, all day long – and it was nice to entertain to gathered crowds, a proper audience with no rush to be somewhere else. Even nicer to be approached at the end of each set and be told how much the person, or often couple, had enjoyed listening to me. “You were brilliant,” said one lady, adding “Just amazing.” And with her husband nodding in agreement capped it off with really the best compliment you can hear as a singer and entertainer: “You’ve really made our day...” Modesty limits me to just one example, but I’m delighted there was a steady stream of similar comments from equally appreciative visitors.
But the weather wasn’t kind to them, or me, or my fellow entertainers, The Ronnie Singers, all weekend, with frequent downpours. So much so that the gazebo thoughtfully provided by Severn Valley Railway very soon had its own feature pond at the back at one point, with the amount of rainwater running into it. But the show must go on… and between us, and the help of a wooden palette quickly requisitioned for the purpose, we managed to keep all our (expensive) PA equipment nice and dry, and carried on regardless, us under cover and the audience under umbrellas. Well, mostly. Happily, the rain relented long enough to enable me to go out and get closer to the audience. It also stopped sufficiently to allow some dancers to join me, including The Ronnies at one point, and what could easily have been a complete washout wasn’t remotely so across the whole two days. To be fair, the sun did put in an appearance a few times but all too often was soon elbowed aside by the next passing rain cloud.
As for Bridgnorth, it is a lovely station to visit – as are all the stations along the line. I believe Severn Valley Railway boasts more steam trains than any other railway in the UK, and they are all beautiful and just boarding one for a photo opportunity (guilty m’lud) is a reminder of a long ago pre-motorway Britain, when train travel was an adventure, a necessity if you wanted to travel to exotic place such as Barmouth and Penzance, which you could do from this neck of the woods. Talk about stepping back in time. Each station is beautifully preserved, and proudly looked after by an army of volunteers – 1200 on any given day, ranging from station masters to fireman and maintenance staff. Limited now, as the name suggests, to the spectacular 16-mile route through the Severn Valley, it would not come as any surprise to even a casual visitor that the Heritage Railway, and especially Arley Station, is used so often for film and television. Well worth a visit.
All too often young people get a bad rap. But a few bad apples shouldn’t deflect from what I believe is the vast majority of well-mannered, well-raised, bright, intelligent and thoroughly decent generation of youngsters there are in this country. With the Shropshire Army Cadets manning the barrier into the station enclave and later treating us to an exhibition of basic drills, here was a fine example of young people showing the best of themselves. But the real star of the weekend, as far as I was concerned, was my latest best friend and, yes, newest admirer (her words, not mine!) Millie. She had been charged with looking after the artistes, and what a delight it was to have her willingness, enthusiasm and perpetual smile around us the whole weekend. Millie, you were fantastic – take a bow. In fact, Severn Valley Railway, take a collective bow. You are all wonderful!
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