Remembered with appreciation. Joys from Music which we now share in our Memories.
The late Dennis Hunt - energetic musician - a founder, with his wife Yvonne.Inspiring the event from its outset. Dennis always gave a brilliant lift to the dancing through his accordion playing. Not being exactly note-perfect, he once remarked - "When our dancers have got all the steps right, I'm sure that by THEN I will be playing all the right notes". (Their children had maintained in recent years, a constant care & dignity for Yvonne throughout the increasing detachment and deterioration of her long dementia illness. We now share the sadness of her permanent loss.) ** Another great loss was of Jack Steele's gentlemanly musicianship. Jack was a particularly wonderful pianist leader of joyously memorable traditional community singalongs.
Always tolerant with the limitations of others, his hearing loss meant that he did not find it straightforward to work with the band playing tunes for International Dance in the Midlands which he founded. Jack most graciously passed on its leadership. He would with ongoing zeal; from old tapes, write out "the dots", which still allow musicians - at Great Alne Long Weekend and frequent other occasions to use Jack's many dedicatedly transposed tunes. Some of these, dancers would otherwise be able to access only from repeatedly copied casette tape, and without Jack's hours of patience, our musicians today would have a far smaller repertoire. Jack was a wonderful solo musician with whom it was a privilege to work, and he is remembered also with affection and great appreciation by the lady's Morris side in Worcester for whom he played. ** Derek's distinctive mouthorgan vamping will sadly now no longer be a feature in our International Music band.