OVER the past 10 years there have been 25 ‘Hog the Limelight’ events at Medstead village hall, raising more than £8,000.

So when funding for Hampshire’s touring arts scheme which brought professional arts to rural communities was cut, it left a big hole in Medstead village hall’s social calendar.

That was until Mike Overy came up with the idea of finding local talent to entertain the community and ‘Hog the Limelight’ was born.

The first event, on a cold snowy February evening, was Barry Buckley with his Barryoke! – a singalong to the music of Queen.

He was warmly welcomed by the sellout audience as he expertly guided gig-goers through many of Queen’s best-loved songs, interspersed with pictures of and factoids about the group.

Barryoke! involves everyone joining in the singing, with the words shown on the big screen and, to quote one of the audience, “I have not sung like that in a very long time, great fun from beginning to end”.

With plenty of arm swaying, hand clapping, air guitars and foot stomping, the evening culminated in a rousing rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody (well...what else could it have been?). Overall it was declared “a rollickingly good evening”.

Grateful thanks have been expressed to Medstead Scouts for providing the bar, which no doubt helped to lubricate voices and loosen inhibitions. Thanks also to pianist Ruth who played while people were arriving, and to Mike and his team for organising the event.

The next ‘Hog the Limelight’ show on Friday, May 5, will star ‘Cylvia’, who will be returning to the Medstead stage with her jazzy vocals, featuring popular hits from the 1960s.