16 May 2008
Louise Orfilla entertains...
at La Salle Verte.
This was a great idea.A different kind of local event. Small in scale but intimate and wholly enjoyable.La Salle Verte, formerly The Green Room, held a very pleasant evening last thursday(May 15). Dinner, wine and terrific entertainment and all for the attractive admission cost of just £15.It was too hard to resist and a number of famously fab forumites went along to see a famously fab entertainer. It was my own first opportunity to see the young talented star Louise Orfilla in vocal action and she was a true delight.
Louise was backed up in fine style by the keyboard whizz with those oh so dazzling fingers, Richard Ansell, and vocally by local well known Blackfish Academy thespian, Richard Esdale, who was also in fine voice. Well it was all surprisingly good.
The picture shows lovely songbird Louise Orfilla in fine voice, with the master of keyboard dexterity himself, Richard Ansell, providing the music behind her.
La Salle Verte are having other planned musical evenings, which should also prove successful, but if this trio returns, yours truly will return also. Want some more of this please. There is more about this evening in the Letters Club Forum so pop along there to have a look. See menu on left. PB.
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Frontline Dover Big Band Dance, Town Hall. Regular contributor Barry Williams has sent in the press release below which highlights the difficulties of holding the annual dinner and dance event at the Town Hall. The dance is held every year in tandem with the Hellfire Corner weekend in Pencester Gardens. The open air event in Pencester goes from strength to strength with more participants than ever before. But will this be the last dance.....
PRESS RELEASE
Frontline Dover 14th and 15th June 2008.
Dover Town Council have again supported this major Dover event with a grant of £500.
This money along with sponsorship from Criccieth Homes Limited will help provide a whole weekend of 1940’s style FREE entertainment in Pencester Gardens.
We have more enquiries than ever before from people want to display their military and civilian vehicles of the era and the weekend will include a period fire engine demonstration.
The bandstand entertainment schedule will also be more packed and varied than ever before.
Sadly, however this years Big Band Dance in Dover Town Hall on the Saturday evening may be the last. Such dances are very expensive to lay on with the high cost of the sixteen piece ‘big bands’ that make these evenings very special. However it is the high and increasing costs associated with the Town Hall that may kill off this dance. This year we have faced a huge rise in the catering costs that exceeded the increase we made in the cost of tickets. We do not feel that the ‘market’ can sustain a higher ticket price. It is ‘touch and go’ as to whether the evening will even break even. We need to make at least 250 ticket sales just to cover costs and last year we managed less than 220.
After the next weekend we will have to consider our options for 2009 and we may not be able to hold such a dance again. This is a great pity as the Town Hall was an original venue for such evenings during the war and it contributes to a wonderful period atmosphere.
This, therefore, may be your last chance to experience such a wonderful evening at this fantastic venue. This year we will see the return of one of the UK’s top ‘Big Bands’ to Dover, the Jeff Short Swing Band. They will be dressed in 1940’s US Army Air Force uniforms, to add to the ambience while playing the hits of Glenn Millar and other 1940’s favourites.
Please support this dance and help us keep this event alive. The daytime activities in Pencester are not threatened but they may have to be curtailed next year if a loss is made on this year’s dance.
Tickets are £19.50 including a buffet. 7.30pm to 11.30pm Saturday 14th June.
Dress code is 1940’s civilian, allied uniform or black tie to take us back to those wartime years. Contact our dance ticket hotline, Sue on 0797 219 4745.
For further information contact Barry Williams on 01304 213902 in office hours. Ends…..
The picture above shows from left to right, Barry Williams himself, lovely ex-mayor Cllr Jan Tranter, and Barry Wadsworth-Smith of Doverforum, all enjoying in fine style a recent event at the Town Hall.
Back to topic - it would be great to see as many of you in Pencester for the weekend. There really is some first class live free entertainment to suit everone. I am particularly looking forward to the Blackfish take on Aint Arf Hot Mum.....
The Saturday evening dance will be a goody too. If you can come please dont miss this chance. If you have never attended such an event before it is an experience not to be missed. Looking around, if everyone gets into the spirit with the dress code you really do get 'In the Mood' of the 1940's feel. When that big band first starts up with those Glenn Millar sounds.....wow..... not to be missed.