FARNHAM Golf Club’s Christmas Show reached new heights surpassing previous performances.

This year’s theme was ‘Musicals’ with many of the numbers coming from West End shows and films. In addition there were a variety of amusing sketches, all put on by members of the club.

Having a live band, consisting of Chuck Pengilley, Ian Saunders, Mick Douglas and Barry Powell, made the musical performances all the more enjoyable, and helped the singers enormously.

Club vice-captain Alan Wheatley was the driving force behind the show, which he has been producing for the past 13 years, helped for the past few years by Denny Bates.

The evening began with a rousing rendition of Another Opening, Another Show, but the final night was complicated by a temporary loss of speakers. Enter Dickie Molden, Farnham Golf Club’s MC, raconteur and compere who came to the rescue with several jokes and anecdotes to fill the gaps until the sound system was fixed.

Club members, who had been rehearsing for weeks, gave creditable performances of numbers from the musicals, those contributing being Malcolm Billings, Tony Wilson, Tricia Paul, Terry Lewis, Jo Young, Barbara Wheatley (Ladies’ vice-captain), Bob Golding, Sam Coulter (club captain), Terry Bates, Carolyn McCulloch, Lindsey Farmer, Pauline Stock, Joan Oldroyd, Bill Talbot, Bob Young, Bernard Godward, Ian Wilson-Soppitt, Terry Bates, Barry Powell, Ray Heath and Bob Larkham.

The musical numbers were interspersed with several amusing sketches, namely the ‘Dress Code Sketch’ performed faultlessly by the president, Tim Hodges, and his predecessor, Keith Wheatley.

Past Captains Jim Wood and John Cooper were type-cast as a ‘Couple of Swells’, and a couple of barbershop numbers by the quartet added a challenging but respectable rendition of a different style of unaccompanied singing, which was well received.

The evening peaked with a routine by the Jersey Boys, and concluded with the cast joining in the finale Oh, What a Night. Club Captain, Sam Coulter, said: “For a club of this size to put on a show of this calibre is a great achievement, and they do it year after year. There aren’t many clubs who put on such a show, and credit must go to all involved.”