Did it snow?, did it snow?, did it snow?
It SNOWED.
In the Bleak Midwinter, not so long ago ... indeed it did.
In fact on Friday 17th December - literally as I left home just before 6.00pm - it started to snow. The start of this prolonged and presumably white Christmas spell.
And by the time we got to Ince Blundell - it was fair performing what we call on the School ski trip as a "good dump". Within minutes, the paths, roads, trees, hedges and cars were already blanketed.
Would the rest of the choir make it? I suppose fortunately, because they'd already been on their way when the snow storm started, the answer was yes - even if it took Simon an hour to get from Liverpool (about 6 miles away). So we started to get the voices sung in, thoroughly expecting to sing only to our three or four "groupies".
By 7:30 there were probably at least 50 people in the audience.
The choir sang well - even if I say so myself. The audience was appreciative, and there was really a special atmosphere inside the warmth of Holy Family Church - us all cocooned away from the continuing snow outside. Mulled wine and mince pies were appreciated by all afterwards - before a small band of singers made it back to Formby, for a rather more lethal mulled wine, and an equally warming Chilli served up, as often, in The Evergreens.
But best news of all - preliminary figures suggest the evening might have raised at least £1500 for Mary's Meal - more details of that later. With thanks to Father Gamble, the Sisters of the Nursing Home, the audience who braved the elements, the folk who bought tickets to support but didn't make it, the choir - and last but not least Barclays Bank for match-funding!