Rainbow Art

22/12/2025

CAROL CORNER
Wow! What amazing evening of music was brought to us by Jean Martyn. Jean is an accomplished international acclaimed artist, degrees in music, pupil of late Johnny Dankworth & a ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ finalist. With this CV we knew we were in for a great evening & Jean delivered the goods with a double Wow! The music burst forth with Christmas favourites, ‘Deck the Hall, Walking on Air, Winters Tale, Frosty the Snowman, Dreaming of a White Christmas, Winter Wonderland’. Of course, we all joined in singing.
Jean enchanted us with ‘The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy’, from Tchaikovsky Nut Cracker Suite; big applause for a brilliant rendition. We had some Boogie & Ragtime Music. Boogie has a strong accent on the second & fourth beats, known as ‘backbeat’, as in jazz, blues, R&B, and rock and roll. Ragtime is known for its "ragged" rhythms contrasting a steady left-hand beat with a bouncy, off-beat right-hand melody. Both originated way back in African communities but became very popular in 1920’s America. Jean kept us singing with an amazing selection of Carols & Christmas songs. ‘Away in a Manger, Silent Night, O Come All Ye Faithful, All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth, Santa Claus is Coming To Town’, including the happy foot tapping ’Feliz Navidad’, Spanish for "Merry Christmas", to name just a few. Jean combined the evening with a little numerous story telling & even interspersed with some skillful playing of Bach. What a versatile lady. It was a wonderful evening & fitting finale to end our 2025 musical calendar. I’m sure, on your behalf, we would like to say a big thank you to all the committee for their dedication & hard work throughout the year. Thank you. I wish you all A Merry Christmas, A Happy, Healthy New Year & look forward very much to sharing another year of music in 2026.

13/12/2025

I was invited to play my keyboard for a Christmassy social gathering at Kingsman Court Clacton on Sea. A very appreciative audience who joined in the singing & what a lovely venue. I do get to play in some beautiful places. Residents,Tina & Mel hosted the event & kindly provided a tasty buffet. Thankyou to you both for inviting me & all there for making me so welcome, I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
I wish you all A Merry Christmas & A Very Happy New Year. Carol.

06/12/2025

News from The Holland Art Society.
Members of the Holland Art Soc. are pleased to be exhibiting some of their splendid artwork throughout the whole month of December at the WESTCLIFF THEATRE Clacton on Sea.
The Theatre is open every day for viewing & all artwork is for sale. Attached some artwork before official display.

18/11/2025

NEWS FROM THE CLACTON KEYBOARD MUSIC CLUB
Carol’s Corner There’s something about live music that can’t be replicated - Brett Wales master of the keys demonstrated just that. From the moment he hit the first note with ‘Conquest of Paradise’ Brett had the audience captivated.
The latest Wersi Sonic keyboard filled the hall with spectacular incredible sound. Brett played us a wonderful mix of genres….bit of swing, dash of pop, beautiful lush orchestral arrangements, some classical. We had it all. We felt the Wersi’s solid beat of ‘Men of Work’s’ famous 1981 song ‘Down Under’. Multi tracking for the song ‘My Beloved’ was accompanied by a lady singing…how technically clever is that. The lush sound of violins followed with ‘La Vie En Rose’ popularized by Edith Piaf way back in 1947. We had some country & western, ‘Some Broken Hearts Never Mend’, recorded in 1977 by Don Williams. ‘New York, New York’ demonstrated the super Big Band sound, contrasting with a host of different instrumental sounds for Mozart’s ‘Rondo alla Turca, a Turkish March 1791. We had another amazing Wersi vocal voice of Freddie Mercury singing ‘I Want to be Free’. The amazing songs kept coming. ‘Knights in White Satin’, ‘Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow’, ‘This Old House’, ‘Rock Around the Clock’, the poignant voice of Elvis singing ‘Look Away’, to name just a few. It was more than a concert, it was an experience……& what a lovely, full of character guy is Brett. He shared stories & joked with the crowd, his music & energy was infectious. We all left buzzing & with happy smiles. We do hope we see him again in 2026. Big Thankyou to Vic & his team for booking the great ….Brett Wales

10/11/2025

NEWS FROM HOLLAND ART SOCIETY
Our Fish & Chips social evening this year is on 24th November. 7pm to 9pm. It is in our usual venue The Holland Public Hall, Frinton Road, Holland on Sea with free parking & wheelchair access. Tickets are still available at £11each. Please contact Brenda 07899 016750 to book. There will be a picture quiz, lots of music & this year a fun music quiz with many prizes. Also bring along your painting for the picture competition. Please come along & support the event, bring a friend if you can. Everyone is welcome.

09/11/2025

08/11/2025

NEWS FROM CLACTON KEYBOARD MUSIC CLUB
Brett has played concerts in the USA, Germany, the Netherlands and all over the UK, delighting audiences wherever he performs with his own unique style and sound.
An evening not to be missed. Just come along, no need to book, pay at the door. You will be made very welcome.
Free parking. Wheelchair friendly.

26/10/2025

NEWS FROM CLACTON KEYBOARD MUSIC CLUB.
CAROLS CORNER.
Well, we have had some really entertaining guests through 2025 & Elizabeth Harrison in her sparkly outfit, interesting fun chit chat & great music choice was no exception. The evening was filled with easy listening favourites starting with a lively medley, ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You, ‘Happy Talk’, ‘Powder Your Face With Sunshine’, ‘Baby Be Good’, ‘Apple Tree’, to name just a few, all with a gorgeous orchestral backing.
We had some impressive trumpets with ‘Out Of The Blue’
march, rhythmic castanets for the ‘Tea for Two’ cha cha & a passionate Tango, ‘O Sol Mio’ composed way back in 1898. Changing beat came a Scottish folk song ‘The Bonnie Banks o’ Loch Lomond’ thought to date way back to the Jacobite rising of 1745. We heard the rich organ sounds intermixing with the bubbling xylophone when Liz played a selection of dreamy hits, ‘Forgotten Dreams’, ‘True Love’, ‘When I Grow Too Old to Dream’. to name just a few. Liz brought forth a whole full orchestra to play ‘Last Of The Summer Wine’ arguably one of the most beautiful television theme songs. It bequeaths the bewitchery and beauty of the countryside & simpler times. The series aired for 37 years, 1973 to 2010, making it the WORLD's longest-running television sitcom. Foot tapping numbers followed from ‘Mambo Italiano’ to foxtrotting with ‘I Could Have Danced All Night’ & in complete contrast, calmly slowing down with of bit of sensuous intoxicating Bach. There is not enough space here to list or describe the dazzling selection of songs & amazing dexterity of playing that Liz shared with us. It was a wonderful evening of music, I saw happy faces everywhere. Music is good for the soul. Thankyou so much Liz. We hope you can come back next year.

22/06/2025

NEWS FROM CLACTON KEYBOARD MUSIC CLUB
Carols Corner. A super entertaining programme was the reward for everyone who attended the evening with Chris Stanbury at the clubs June Meeting.
Chris began with the Big Band sound of At the Sign of the Swinging Cymbal – which many music fans will recall was the signature tune of the weekly BBC programme Top of the Pops for over 40 years. After this appropriate opening, we were swept back into the heady days of early pop music. The Closest Thing to Crazy, a big success for Katie Melua, Chubby Checker, Let’s Twist Again, Elvis with his Blue Suede Shoes, Its Now or Never, Jailhouse Rock etc. (This August 2025 would have been Elvis’s 90th Birthday). We had Burt Bacharach with Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head, then off to Vienna where The Hills Were Alive with The Sound of Music, followed by the fire & fury of Strauss’s Thunder & Lightening Polka.
Chris continued down memory lane in the second half with many past iconic songs & singers. Uncle Macs. Nellie the Elephant, Dick Barton Theme, Max Bygraves, Pink Toothbrush Blue Toothbrush, Davy Crockett, Shadows, Walt Disney hits, John Barry, Queen, Neil Sedaka, David Jacob’s Juke Box Jury along with a melody tribute to Dusty Springfield, to name but a few.
Chris treated us to a dexterous fast & furious concord of Tico Tico, composed way back in 1917 by Portuguese Zequinha de Abreu intermixed with Flight of the Bumble Bee from the opera, The Tale of Tsar Saltan by Rimsky-Korsakov. …. Wow! Brilliant playing!
It was without doubt a tremendous evening of music provided by a top artist. Thankyou Chris. We’re eager to hear you play again soon. By Carol Paterson

17/04/2025