As out ability to rehearse music to a high standard has improved, the monthly Evensong service has become fully established as an opportunity to offer musical worship of a high standard and is appreciated greatly by those people who prefer this style of worship. A word must be said to all the choir members at this point for their faithfulness in preparing and rehearsing the music and often spending an hour before services on a Sunday evening in final preparations. The choir also takes a full part in all the services held in the church and appreciate all support given to us by the members of the congregation.

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Following on our singing of Evensong at Chester Cathedral twice in 2004 and at Cartmel in 2005, we organised another service where we would sing. It was at Malvern Priory in Worcestershire; an area steeped in the music of Sir Edward Elgar and a town with a significant choral tradition. Once again, John and Paul helped greatly with the rehearsals, along with Dorothy McIllhagga who put us through our paces with items such as ‘O Quam Glorisum' by Vittoria , Stanford's Canticles and, as a brilliant climax to the service, Parry's Coronation Anthem ‘I Was Glad'. The town was busy, Bob Jones, as usual had organised an unforgettable day out by coach and the service was really well received.

As you read this report, the choir is beginning its work preparing for yet another event; we are due to sing Evensong at Ripon Cathedral on 16 th June and are looking forward to a summer of hard work as we come to sing in one of the great buildings of English Christianity.

Our Carol Concert in December took the form of ‘Nine Lessons' and much of the musical preparation was undertaken by John Tennant and Dorothy McIlhagga. One interesting feature was that for one of the Carols, ‘Every Star Shall sing a Carol' we had the composer with us at rehearsals; a colleague of John's from his school.

Our Passiontide and Easter services are at present in preparation. Good Friday evening is slightly different this year; not a single work (Such as Stainer's Crucifixion) but a series of shorter works and meditative readings. Probably the most exciting to sing and hear will be Malcolm Williamson's ‘Procession of Palms' written in the 1960's and using as a basis two well known Palm Sunday hymns. Once again we appreciate the help given by Dorothy and the Oldershaw Singers and look forward to further joint events in the future.

On a lighter note the choir has been involved in a number of events during the year in which they have helped to entertain people as they attend various social events in the Church and around the church family.

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Bob Jones' wife, Helen, had an important birthday in January and the choir serenaded her to this effect at a party in Liscard which many church members attended. In March we had an entertaining and educational evening with Canon Roy Lawrence in which the choir sang a number of Roy's compositions, including ‘Stumpy Fingers' a seemingly light-hearted song about Saint Mark which conveyed a great deal about the man and the difficulties under which he lived in first century Palestine.

It has been an enjoyable year and a year in which many of our projects have come together. We have a magnificent organ, people more than willing to play it on a regular basis, growing links with other music groups in the area and regular services of Christian Liturgy. Perhaps our personnel are our greatest asset. Into the group at St James have come singers from St. John's and they have brought their traditions with them and become fully integrated into a hard working group dedicated to the service of the church.