Classical singer opens Christmas calendar for another year

A CLASSICAL singer opened this year’s Henley Living Advent Calendar.

Steve Lock performed songs in English, Italian and Spanish to a crowd at the town hall on Monday.

The event was the first of
24 nights of surprise performances that will take place in different locations around town in aid of charities.

Mr Lock, who lives in Spain, was invited to open the calendar by the council’s communications manager, Daisy Smith, who first met him at university. They opened the evening with a duet with in Italian and English called The Prayer.

The catering was provided by the Happy Gurkha who served dumplings. The night’s chosen charity was the Henley branch of the Royal British Legion.

Mr Lock sang Someone To Remember Me, Con te partirò (Time to Say Goodbye) and Feliz Navidad (I Want to Wish you a Merry Christmas), which he encouraged the crowd to sing and dance along to. He ended with I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas.

The second night took place at the Angel on the Bridge pub in Thames Side and featured a performance from four-man band the Yoko Mainwaring Experience.

About 100 people sat on wooden benches under large blue umbrellas on the pub’s decking for the performance in aid of Regatta for the Disabled.

The band, which played on miniature guitars and ukuleles, sang songs including Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer, Dominic the Italian Christmas Donkey with the crowd singing “eior eior” as an echo during the chorus.

Mayor Tom Buckley said: “I would like to get to as many off the nights as possible this Christmas. It’s a really nice thing to bring the community together and to showcase the charities and the performers.

“There are certain things that make Henley Henley and the Christmas light switch-on and the advent calendar are a nice build-up to Christmas.”

The remaining venues are as follows: December 5 Hart Street Tavern; 6 Holy Trinity Church; 7 town hall; 8 Christ Church Centre; 9 the Old Bell; 10 Relais Henley; 11 Chiltern House; 12 the Anchor; 13 Echoes; 14 Kenton Theatre; 15 Henley library; 16 d:two centre; 17 Christmas tree, Market Place; 18 the Bull on Bell Street; 19 Eyot Centre; 20 Flyte Bar; 21 Henley Rugby Club; 22 Christmas tree, Market Place; 23 Hof’s; 24 St Mary’s Church.