Our annual Radcliffe Orchestra Concert was held on Saturday 11th March in the surprisingly large and sumptuous Tingewick Hall which nestles in the middle of the JR site in the academic block. The Radcliffe Orchestra comprises over 50 amateur musicians, all of who work at the JR Hospital and who, together, make a very professional sound.
Conducted by the very experienced John James, the programme comprised Richard Strauss’s ‘Serenade for Winds’ (tha…t’s wind instruments I think), Joseph Suk’s ‘Serenade for Strings’ (no, I hadn’t heard of him either) and ‘Symphony No5’ by Sibelius (heard of him, but didn’t know the piece). This was all a bit highbrow for those of us who prefer the slightly more popular end of the classical spectrum – Elgar, Mozart, Tchaikovski etc but the selected pieces were beautifully played and greatly enjoyed by most of the audience.

The Concert has made about £1,200 for Vale House which is our late President’s chosen charity. Vale House is in Sandford-on- Thames and is a specialist dementia care home. See www.valehouse.org.uk

Mira and I won the very prizes we had donated for the half-time raffle which, bearing in mind there were only about a dozen prizes and the better part of 200 in the audience, was a coincidence to say the least.

We provided a delicious buffet with wine and soft drinks after the concert. Thank you to our members who made canapes by the hundred, most of which had disappeared by the time people went home. Thank you also to everyone who sold tickets for us and put the whole show together (our members and others).

The photo below shows President Stan giving us ‘The Radcliffe Rap’ before welcoming everyone.