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Singing Solo on Stage

"When I went to the junior school I was never allowed to sing. My first teacher was this fierce dragon of a woman, with thick red lipstick, blue hair and black rimmed Edna Everage glasses.

She would walk around the classroom sticking her ear in your mouth to see if you were singing in tune. I was so terrified of her that the nearer she got to me, the more I could feel my voice refusing to do what my brain was trying to tell it it to do. "You're tone deaf", she said, "you'll put the other children off. Go and sit in the corner and keep quiet".

But I could sing, I knew I could sing. I'd sang in the New Theatre in the pantomime. There was a funny lady in the pantomime. When she asked if there was any children who'd like to go up on the stage, I was there like a shot - first up! The funny lady - who was really a man dressed up - asked if I'd like to sing a song.
"Yes" I said.
"What are you going to sing?"
"I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts, but I'll only sing it if I can have the band!"
"Oh, right."

The conductor waved his stick, the band started up and I belted out, "I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts, there they are a-sitting in a row. Big ones, small ones, some as big as yer head, you give them a twist, a flick of the wrist, that's what the showman said..."

I knew all the words. I'd heard it, on the Billy Cotton Band show on the wireless.I came to the end of the song, the band stopped playing and everything went quiet. And then there was a sound, a wonderful sound. It was the sound of all the people... clapping.

Tone deaf? Huh! I'd sang in the panto in the New Theatre with the band. And all the people clapped!"

Please tell us a little about yourself.
After starting work in the grocery trade at fifteen and inspired by a very special girl, I went back to school at the age of 23, starting from scratch with "O levels", then to college as a mature student and ended up with a B.Ed degree as Head of Drama in a Comprehensive School. I've now escaped. I refuse to say retired because that's what old people do - and I'm enjoying doing things that involve creating. I also do charity work, my wife and I travel, providing employment for people who work in airports, hotels and restaurants.

What's your story about?
My story is a childhood memory about the New Theatre, Cardiff, and an early experience of school.

Why did you choose to tell this particular story?
Initially because it suited in that it was about growing up in Cardiff but as I worked on it I realised there was more to it than that. It became something I wanted to say about life. We all know what it is like to be put down, the experience can sometimes have a devastating effect on our confidence. I sometimes think I've spent most of my adult life doing things that, as a child, I was taught I was incapable of doing. The story is about one such incident. But it isn't about being a victim. Quite the opposite, it is about winning through and succeeding. The will to succeed is often the product of adversity, failure in one way is often the route to success in another. That, I hope, is something the people who see my little film will identify with.

What did you find most rewarding about the workshop?
After 29 years of teaching where, inevitably, no matter what subject you teach, there will be some pupils who do not like that subject and either can't be bothered or become disruptive, it was an absolute joy to work on something creative with a team of committed people.

Your comments

"Thank you for sharing your experience. I quite liked the illustrations for the story, not to mention that they made quite a contrast to the previous black-and-white photos since they were so colourful." Kevin, Ontario, Canada.

"How very inspiring. For those of us who have been put aside, knocked down, our confidence blown to bits; for thos who may have been less than gracious to another and for those of us who may have never have thought of the impact one's deeds have had on another." Elizabeth, Caerphilly.