I’ve been to Symphony Hall, the NEC, The Albert Hall, West End theatres…all at great cost. Yet a £5 Black Country Folk, Food and Fun evening at St John’s Church Brockmoor gave me as much pleasure and enjoyment. I do hope these evenings become a regular event. Steve Martin and his wife Sue provided the warm up act – choosing songs well know to all – getting everyone to join in and sing along from the start. Bob and Pam provided the comedy – as good as Aynock and Ayli – and the star turn of the evening was Keith Judson who sang his own compositions accompanied by his own extraordinary guitar playing. Particularly moving were Keith’s songs about the impoverished nail makers of Bromsgrove and the Black Country working under terrible conditions – white slaves – and ironically making the shackles and chains for the black slaves of Africa, and a composition dedicated to his late mother and father. 
At the interval food was brought to our table – no queueing – which included a sweet too. St John’s provided an excellent venue. The accoustics were really good, its historic setting provided a special atmosphere for the night and the performance space was ideal. Churches need to move beyond the traditional church service to find new uses to complement their use as a place of worship and to ensure their continued viability into the future. Events like this point the way to how it can be done. 
So many thanks to all involved. A great evening was had by all. Finally here’s a youtube on an impromptu dance to give you flavour of the atmosphere. (NB sound quality due to the fact this was recorded on my iphone – doesn’t do justice to the live sound at the event).