HOLSWORTHY Rotary Club’s Charity Extravaganza, held in the HATS theatre recently, must surely rank as one of their best since they have been putting on these shows for the past 14 years, writes Christine Williams.

The quality and variety of the acts and the enthusiasm of the audience contributed to making it a thoroughly enjoyable evening.

The lusty voices of the children of Bradworthy Academy choir, one of two choirs on the programme, got the show off to a spirited start as they sang four songs including When I Grow Up and Bridge Over Troubled Waters.

Later it was the turn of the Newton St Petrock Male Voice Choir, with Hand Me Down My Silver Trumpet and the rousing Take Me Home among their four items.

There were outstanding performances by three young performers — 16-year-old Ben Parker on the saxophone accompanied by David Robinson, Leighann Johns, performing three songs from the musicals in an amazing soprano voice, which would not be out of place on the professional stage, and George Cooper, who accompanied himself on the guitar as he sang songs by the Beatles, and REM and ended with Elvis Presley’s Jailhouse Rock.

Much of the comedy was supplied by Rotarians themselves. Ian Chouffot was compere and provided some amusing anecdotes and links between the items. Clifford Vickery, dressed as an aristocratic tramp, sang I live in Trafalgar Square and an elegantly attired David Jones, accompanied by his wife Liz, sang Flanders and Swann songs I’m a Gnu, Have Some Madeira, M’Dear and The Hippopotamus Song with the audience eagerly joining in the chorus of Mud, mud, glorious mud.

He also performed a delightful comic song made famous by Stanley Holloway: My Word, You do look Queer.

Robert Cole and Ray Hockin brought Alf and Bert back to life as they provided an amusing commentary on Hols­worthy life allegedly from a bench in Stanhope Park.

The busiest of all the performers who appeared in both halves of the programme was close harmony duo the King Sisters, known as Ice and a Slice.

Dressed in American army uniforms of the Second World War they brought to life the swing and boogie-woogie era of the Andrews Sisters with songs such as Chattanooga Choo-Choo and Shoo-Shoo Baby and they brought the evening to an end when they returned as char ladies to perform Don’t dilly dally on the way and When I’m cleaning windows.

At the end Rotary president Cedric Cook took the mic to thank the artistes and everyone who had contributed to such a successful concert.

He reminded the audience that the purpose was to raise money for local good causes including the Devon Air Ambulance Trust and he estimated that including the raffle they would have raised some £2,500.