My one and only regret during the amazing bank holiday weekend weather is that it kept too many people away from Malborough Village Hall on Saturday evening for the wonderful band concert staged by Salcombe Lifeboat Fundraisers.

The brilliant 25-strong Lewisham Concert Band played On the Crest of a Wave, a lively programme of music by Cole Porter, Rodgers and Hammerstein, and Hoagy Carmichael – my own personal favourites – as well as more traditional sea-related music by the Sirs: Malcolm Arnold, Arthur Sullivan and Henry Wood, and others. A delightful mix altogether.

But it was the personality of the band and its members, playing everything from a piccolo to a euphonium, that shone out so vividly, especially when they mingled with the audience during the interval. They were very interesting – and very good fun.

I do hope the fundraisers manage to bring this band back next year for Salcombe Lifeboat’s 150-year celebrations and, if it is a similar programme, I would particularly urge anyone who enjoys American show music of the 1940s and 1950s to come along.

You will have a great evening!

Bill Blanch

Lower Batson, Salcombe