EAGER JOY-CATCHERS

Dominion, Volume 24, Issue 290, 3 September 1931, Page 2

EAGER JOY-CATCHERS

Singing the Gloom Away

The weekly community sing on Wednesdays in Wellington is becoming a national event. The sing is broadcast, and judging by the numbers of letters received from all parts of the Dominion there must be. some hundreds of people who make a practice of listening-in and who do not fail to express their keen appreciation and to ask for request numbers. Yesterday’s sing was, by permission of J. C. Williamson Ltd., held in the Grand Opera House, where both the stalls and dress circle were crowded five minutes after the sing commenced. The leader was Mr. Owen Pritchard, whose parodies and jokes are now part and parcel of the weekly interlude, and help materially to create that atmosphere of cheer these sings are designed to engender. The numbers sung yesterday included “When It's Springtime in the Rockies,” “The Bells of St. Mary's” (with carillon effect by Mr. Frank Crowther), “The Long, Long Trail,” “It’s a Long, Long Way to Tipperary," “John Peel,” “Silver Threads Among the Gold” (with pianoforte transcription by Mr. Crowther), and “Land of Hope and Glory.” . As it was reported that the absent leader. Mr. Albert Russell, was suffering from a cold, the audience expressed its sympathy by singing, to the air of “John Brown's Body,” "Poor Old Albert’s Got a Cold Upon His Chest,” and someone was thoughtful enough to send as an offering a bottle of camphorated oil. Then Mrs. Riissell upset the joke by stating most emphatically that her husband had no cold at all, but that she would accept the camphorated oil as a standby in case such an ill befel him, and as an expression of their regard, which made everybody happy. A collection was taken up in aid of the Mayor’s relief fund, which is sadly in need of reinforcement.