Being a friend

I had a lovely evening yesterday when I was invited to Shirley and Andy's daughter, Hannah's end of course exam. She is a singer with quite a range and has been doing a music course at Napier Uni for the past wee while. The final exam took the form of a live band concert in the Voodoo Rooms and Hannah had to sing with her band, organising the soundcheck and generally making sure all was ok. I was told it would start at 4.30pm and Hannah was to be the first on. I duly arrived just after 4.

Luckily Shirley and Andy had a table and together with their other daughter, Robyn, we sat and we sat and we sat through endless soundchecks by everyone else who was to perform that afternoon. Hannah, apparently, was to do her's last and then be on straight away. Meanwhile their son, Jon and his partner Claire turned up, with Jon's cute daughter Lily, who's 2. She was quite enjoying herself and was dancing along to the soundchecks like a pro, when one of those in charge of the Voodoo Rooms came and told us that Lily'd have to go as she wasn't 18. You'd have thought they might have noticed before!

So, at 6.30, two full hours after we'd expected Hannah to be on, she started. She sang a couple of her own songs and a few covers by such as Sinead O'Connor, and I thought she did very well under the exam conditions. She looked very calm and composed and she seemed to be enjoying it. I know for a fact that the proud parents did, as did I.

It was a bit of a shame that it all started late as there was no time to stay and watch anyone else as I had a date with N to help her sort shoes for a wedding she has to attend in the summer. I rushed back to the house and picked up my bag of shoes I'd bought for her to try on (she doesn't have very many herself as she's not a 'shoe person' unlike moi) and we then spent a couple of hours looking at clothes and shoes to see what would work. Also N is on a mission to spring clean her old clothes and was wondering what to keep and what to give away, and I duly obliged by watching her change and change and change until she was satisfied with her piles of 'throw' and 'keep'. I think we did a good job and she's going to borrow a pair of my shoes to go with her very tasteful wedding outfit.

A good night's work I think.