Joyful Singing Raises £450 For Yorkshire Air Ambulance

Reminded in song that when you smile the whole world smiles with you, and with a rousing rendition of a Merry Christmas to send them on their way, the audience of Singing For Fun Christmas Concert certainly left for home with hearts full of festive spirit. It was a wonderful occasion and if you didn't go, you missed a treat.

Twice a year, this informal singing group of villagers, who meet approximately twice a month to simply “Sing For Fun”, stage a concert-one in the summer and a Christmas special.

Ably and enthusiastically conducted by Angie Archbold and expertly accompanied by pianist Catherine Jennings, the choir were in joyful voice as they and their audience filled the freshly painted Methodist Hall, bedecked in all its Christmas glory, with music.

A capacity audience joined in with well known Christmas carols and how very apt that 'When Shepherds Watched' was sung not to its traditional tune, but rather to 'On Ilkla Moor Baht 'at'. Quite right too, this, after all, is Yorkshire.

The evening began with a short reading of the true meaning of Christmas, but then light heartedness took over as Christmas jokes, poems and humorous stories interspersed with the music. The writer of this article was particularly amused by the one that dealt with Christmas Health & Safety regulations for today's world. You will find this below.

The evening also raised, through ticket sales and a raffle, the sum of £450 for the work of the Yorkshire Air Ambulance, about which a few words were said by Jane Horrod. She spoke briefly about the work of the Air Ambulance, an independent charity that receives no funding from the Government or the NHS but relies totally on the generosity of the public to continue making possible its life-saving missions.

Health & Safety at Christmas-raising a smile

All employees planning to dash through the snow in a one horse open sleigh, going over the fields and laughing all the way, are advised that a Risk Assessment will be required addressing the safety of an open sleigh for members of the public. This assessment must also consider whether it is appropriate to use only one horse for such a venture, particularly where there are multiple passengers. Please note that permission must also be obtained in writing from landowners before their fields may be entered. To avoid offending those not participating in celebrations, we would request that laughter is moderate only and not loud enough to be considered a noise nuisance.

Benches, stools and orthopaedic chairs are now available for collection by any shepherds planning, or required, to watch their flocks at night.
While provision has also been made for remote monitoring of flocks by CCTV cameras from a centrally heated shepherd observation hut, all
users of this facility are reminded that an emergency response plan must be submitted to account for known risks to the flocks. The angel
of the Lord is additionally reminded that, prior to shining his/herglory all around, s/he must confirm that all shepherds are wearing
appropriate Personal Protective Equipment to account for the harmful effects of UVA, UVB and the overwhelming effects of Glory.

Following last years well-publicised case, everyone is advised that Equal Opportunities legislation prohibits any comment with regard to
the redness of any part of Mr R. Reindeer. Further to this, exclusion of Mr R. Reindeer from reindeer games will be considered discriminatory and disciplinary action will be taken against those found guilty of this offence.

While it is acknowledged that gift bearing is a common practice invarious parts of the world, particularly the Orient, everyone is reminded that the bearing of gifts is subject to Hospitality Guidelinesand all gifts must be registered. This applies regardless of theindividual, even royal personages. It is particularly noted that direct gifts of currency or gold are specifically precluded, while caution is advised regarding other common gifts such as aromatic resins that may evoke allergic reactions.

Finally, in the recent instance of the infant found tucked up in a manger without any crib for a bed, Social Services have been advised and will be arriving shortly.