THERE I was, among thirty-odd women milling about outside Marks & Spencer on Saturday, wondering whether I was about to make a complete lemon of myself.

It’s longer than I care to remember since anyone thought of me as a babe, but nevertheless I’m a member of Babes & Ballads, Salisbury’s women-only choir. We were gathering to sing in honour of the city’s Samaritans, who are celebrating their 50th anniversary.

We weren’t rattling collecting tins. This was simply our way of thanking this wonderful charity’s volunteers for their invaluable work.

As we lined up, I was lurking in the back row, hoping that no one I knew would happen along just as I lost my place in the music – a sadly frequent occurrence. We must have been halfway through our third or fourth number when an extraordinary thing happened and my nervousness simply melted away.

One by one, from among the crowd, smiling women began to step forward and join in, singing with us. It won’t surprise you to hear that we’re not used to audience reaction like that.

We must have looked like a load of goggling goldfish, and I don’t know how our conductor Fiona Clarke managed to keep a straight face and carry on. But then, it was all her doing. Fiona leads the Middle Wallop Military Wives Choir, too, and, typically, thought she’d orchestrate a surprise for us by inviting them along to join in.

The wives proceeded to perform two or three songs on their own, then reinforced our ranks for the rest of our gig. They were superb, and such a nice bunch that we’d love to work with them again.

Actually, that’s the great thing about singing – you never know where it’s going to take you. I’m a real amateur who’d never make it into an auditioned ensemble, but with Salisbury Community Choir and Babes I’ve had some amazing experiences, travelled to places I’d never have seen and made friends I’d never have met otherwise.

Stronger Together is the name of the combined military wives’ choirs’ new album. It’s being previewed on YouTube, and they hope and deserve to be a Christmas No 1. We certainly felt a lot stronger together on Saturday.

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