About us...

The CHAD Singers of Pattingham
How we started...
There have always been enthusiastic singers in Pattingham, a small attractive village on the Staffordshire - Shropshire border.
For over forty years, members of the local drama society have performed many of the well-known and some of the lesser-known musicals...'Salad days', 'The Water Gypsies', 'Calamity Jane', 'Fiddler on the roof', 'South Pacific', 'Oliver'... to mention a few !

Occasionally, the singers have collaborated with the local church choir to perform music, including Faure's Requiem, Easter and Christmas cantatas and to take part in special services and festivals.
In 1991, the group occupied the church for a whole week with many memorable performances of 'Jesus Christ Superstar'.

To mark the new millenium, the village songsters united, once again, to perform the nationally acclaimed 'Hopes and Dreams'.
After this show week, the cast expressed a desire to form a more permanent choir and to rehearse and sing regularly. Taking its name from the initials Cast of Hopes And Dreams, the CHAD SINGERS was born.
The group is a 'community' choir open to all competent, adult singers with a current membership of 50. The choir has a rapidly expanding repertoire - singing religious pieces to rock, Bach to the Beatles.

The AIM
Its main aim are two-fold - to provide music making opportunities in the local community and to raise funds for local charitable causes by performing at events.

Loose Impediments
A recent NEW venture is the 'LOOSE IMPEDIMENTS'. a specially written Golf Carbaret performed by the male section of the choir. Click GOLF for more details...

Church Golf Day sees 'Loose Impediments' performed at SSGC.

A Church Golf Day was held on Thursday
21st July 2005 at South Staffs Golf Club
in Tettenhall, Wolverhampton to raise
funds for St. Chad's Church in Pattingham.

At the close of play at 6.00pm, the male section of the choir performed 'Loose Impediments' - the Golf Cabaret in the SSGC club house and restaurant.

 Novelis Golf Day with 'Loose Impediments'.

On the 26th August, the Golf Cabaret 'Loose Impediments' was performed at the golf day of the Novelis company held at Patshull Park, near Pattingham. Due to holidays, the number of singers performing was down to seven but with part sharing the performance was a success. Afterwards, Novelis and the golfers showed their tremendous generosity by collecting and donating the sum of £700, which will be given to Compton Hospice. A big thanks to all those attending.

Christmas 2004
Chad Singers raising funds by singing carols at various venues including outside local shops and help to bring the Christmas spirit into the community.

How to join...
New members are always welcome by contacting the Musical Director, John Fellows on 01902 700542.


 Christmas 2005
On Saturday 17th December 2005, we performed Christmas carols and songs at the entrance to the 'Christmas Experience' at the Bradshaws from 11.00am to 12.30pm.

The scene was busy with customers buying their Christmas decorations and trees but a cold wind was blowing and we all suffered with freezing hands and feet even though most were wearing their best thermals and sharing Alan's brandy flask in their hot drinks. 'Rutter on Ice' someone amusingly commented.
But it was a different and enjoyable event and the generosity of the Bradshaws customers helped raise a further £105 for our nominated Parkinson's disease charity.
Click picture for video clip...


Carol singing outside the Spar Shop on Christmas Eve 2005.
It was a little warmer outside the Spar Shop in Pattingham on Saturday 24th December 2005, somewhat different from the previous Carol singing event at the Bradshaws. Brrrrrrrr !!!
With 90 minutes of carols and Christmas songs, Pattingham people showed their appreciation by donating £207 for our chosen charity for 2006 of 'Parkinson's Disease Research'.

This gives a total of £812 collected over our three 2005 Christmas events.


Events 2006


Evening visit to Symphony Hall.
On Wednesday 11th January 2006, a coach load of Chad Singers and friends departed for the Symphony Hall in Birmingham for an evening concert, which included a performance of Faure's Requiem.
As the choir is practising this particular work at the moment, it was inspiring to see and hear the experts perform it.






Patshull Hall Garden Open Day.
On the 30th April 2006 we were asked to perform songs as part of the Garden Open Day activities.
We performed part of our repertoire for 20 minutes in the rooms at the front of the House overlooking the terrace, where Cream teas were being served.
Due to nearly 800 people visiting that day, our performance had to compete with a crowded and noisy venue, but resulted in the total event raising over £3500 for St Chad's and St Mary's Church funds.


Concert at Bobbington Church.
On Saturday 3rd June 2006 we performed a 'It's a Grand Night for singing' Concert at Holy Cross Church in Bobbington, in aid of church funds.

On a beautiful summer's evening and in a delightful venue, we performed a two part concert. The first part ran for over 50 minutes and consisted of a selection of a 'Sing along' pieces, show and musical numbers and a smattering of religious choral. Angharad Coleman performed her first debut solo with the choir, delighting everyone with an excellent performance of 'It's a fine life' from Oliver. Well done, Angharad!


The interval allowed us to wander around the church grounds whilst enjoying the refreshments of drinks and nibbles served in the specially erected marquee.
The second half of the concert ran for about 20 minutes, concluding in the 'Beatles' medley. All agreed, both choir and audience, that the evening had been a successful and most enjoyable event.

New member, Maggie Webster with husband, Keith enjoy the company of
Joan Fellows with Mary and Richard Buttress before the concert.
Christmas 2006

Our Concert on 20th December 2006 held in St Chad's Church in Pattingham was a great success raising some £650 for this year's charity, Penn Hall School. The church was packed with over 200 people and Mark Dain gave a short talk of what the School was about and its future plans. The large audience enjoyed the concert but some were disappointed due to the mince pies running out. Thanks to all those who were involved in this very successful event.




Another success with £215 raised...
The carols singing outside the Pattingham Shops on Saturday 23rd December 2006 raised a further £215 for our charity, Penn Hall School.

So the total raised over Christmas now stands at £865, a brilliant result.

Thanks to all those who helped and participated.

 First cheque for £880 is presented...

After the very successful Christmas events of the Concert in the church and the carol singing outside the Pattingham shops, a total of £880 was raised.

Here, the cheque is being presented to Lesley Dain by Gladys Jones and John Fellows for passing on to Penn Hall School, our chosen charity for this year.





St George's Concert...What a night !
After preparing since Christmas for our planned St George's Concert with a 'Last Night at the Proms' finale, it all happened on Saturday 21st April.

The first indication that a good night was in store was the speed at which the tickets for the event were snapped up. The event was a joint venture with the St Chad's Social Committee who provided their expertise in the preparation and serving of the food and drink, together with many other activities on the night.

Their layout of the village hall with St George's red and white theme in the table designs and other decorations was particularly attractive. Even Sir Henry Wood was there.

With John Daimond as the MC and performing with his usual sparkling wit, the first half of the concert saw the Chad Singers perform typical English items with songs from 'Merrie England', 'Scarborough Fayre', solos by Deb Bates with 'Fairest Isle', Helen Dowd with 'There'll always be an England', and a quartet of Angharad Coleman, Monica Woodall, Neil Stockall and Mike Hayward singing 'In England, Merrie England'.

The ladies performed 'In an English Country Garden' and with a introduction of a siren and WW1 war sounds, the men performed a 'Medley of WW1 Songs', which were both well received by the enthusiastic audience.

This was followed by a 50 minute interval, when a selection of cheeses and wine was served, organised by the Social Committee.

The second half of the Concert shared a 'Last Night of the Proms' finale with the audience with a great deal of 'flag waving' and enthusiastic singing by all in the hall including 'Fantasia on Sea Songs', 'Hornpipe', 'Rule Britannia' with Kate Jones as soloist, 'I vow to thee, my country', 'Jerusalem', 'Land of Hope and Glory', 'God save the Queen' and finally 'Auld Lang Syne'.

The atmosphere was tremendous and all agreed that the evening had been a great success, with many comments declaring that the Chad Singers had sung at their very best.

Together with other fund raising activities on the night, the total sum raised for our charity of Penn Hall Special School from this concert was approximately £1200.

Our thanks go to John Fellows our Musical Director for all the tremendously hard work in preparing the musical content, taking the Choir through many weeks of rehearsals and then performing and conducting on the night. Also thanks to John Daimond, our MC, the Social Committee members and the many others who were involved in all the various parts of the preparation and performance.




Cheque presentation at Penn Hall School

On Monday 9th July, several members of the choir with their Musical Director, John Fellows were invited by Alun Stoll to visit the school and see all the facilities, including the zip wire. After the tour, the cheque for £2200 was presented to the children.
The amount was collected at the Choir's Christmas events and the St George's Concert.
 Christmas 2007... £725 raised

Our Concert on 19th December 2007 held in St Chad's Church in Pattingham was a success raising some £515 for this year's charity, Wolverhampton Multi-Care. The church was packed with over 200 people and Mary Gittings gave a short talk of what Multi-Care was about and its future plans. The large audience enjoyed the concert and the mince pies and mulled wine served during the interval. Thanks to all those who were involved in this very successful event.
Our sponsors were...
Muras Baker Jones Chartered Accountants, Asda, Pickwick Ovens and Waitrose.

On the following Saturday, the 22nd December, we performed Christmas carols outside the Pattingham Shops. Despite the cold, damp weather, we collected £205 over the two hours of singing, which again will go to our 2008 charity, Wolverhampton Multi-Care.

We were joined by a young Flautist who performed 'Away in a manger'.
A Special Occasion...
The Priest-in-charge at St. Chad's Church in Pattingham, John Daimond, retired at the end of December 2007 and to mark this, the Churchwardens organised a 'Farewell and Thank You Lunch' in the Village hall at 12.00 noon on Sunday 30th December.

Over 200 villagers attended and the CHAD Singers gave a special performance of three songs including a specially written version of 'A whiter shade of pale' to mark the occasion.
 'Last Night of the Proms' Concert - Another £1000 raised...

What a night !!! Saturday 26th April 2008 saw another spectacularly successful CHAD Singers Concert on a 'Last Night of the Proms' theme.

With a choir some 40 strong, the evening was introduced by our Master of Ceremonies, Mr. Mike Richards, who in resplendent attire started in true 'Music Hall' tradition giving the details of the first half of the concert which was a musical tour of the British Isles. With some audience participation, we visited Ireland with 'Danny Boy', 'Cockles and Mussels, 'Phil the Fluter' performed by three 'Irish' singers and a musical distraction with Paddie Owen's Band with their performances on penny whistles, drums and various accompanying sounds of a vintage car horn, whistle and sliding whistle. Scotland was visited with 'Loch Lomond', 'Mull of Kintyre' and 'The Skye Boat Song'. Back to England with performances of 'Ilkley Moot Baht 'at', 'In a English country garden' (sung by the Ladies), 'Scarborough Fair, and 'Rose of England'. Wales was not left out with 'All through the night', and a 'Medley of Welsh favourites' performed by the men of the choir, with some sung in Welsh !

After a Cheese and Wine Supper interval, the concert resumed with the ceremony of placing a wreath on the bust of Sir Henry Wood.

We then enjoyed an energetic 30 minutes of 'Last Night of the Proms' with everyone joining in the festivities singing with full voices and lots of flag waving. The evening ended with 'God save the Queen' and 'Auld Lang Syne'.

Just over £1000 was raised for our charity of Wolverhampton Multi-Care, which will be added to the sum of £725 raised at Christmas. We were pleased to have Mary Gittings from Wolverhampton Multi-Care in the audience who gave a short address outlining how the charity operates in helping those who care for the severely handicapped.
We would like to thank sincerely all of those who helped in any way to make this event most enjoyable and successful.
A video taken by Janet Bramall has now been edited and is available on DVD disk at a cost of £4, which will be donated to our charity. Contact Mike Coope (700973) for your copy of this memorable evening.

The 'Thank You' letter received from Mary Gittings...

WOLVERHAMPTON MULTI-HANDICAP CARE AND RELIEF SERVICE
Easterling House, Hilton Street, Springfield, Wolverhampton WV10 OLF
Tel: Care (01902) 453700 Finance: (01902) 458222

PATRONS: Mrs.. Rachel Heyhoe-Flint M.B.E. - John L. Andrews M.B.E. - The Bishop of Wolverhampton, The Right Reverend Clive Gregory

2nd May 2008

Dear Mr. Hickman,

On behalf of our Chairman, and all the families in our Membership, I send you our warmest gratitude for your further efforts in support of our Charity, and I ask you please to pass on our sincere thanks to the Members of your Committee, to Mr. Fellows, and to every Member of the Chad Singers for all the thought and hard work that made such a success of the `Last Night of the Proms'.

At a personal level it is a long time since I enjoyed such a very happy evening - emotional British music and lots of quirky fun. I realised also just how much planning must go into such an event - not just hours of choir practice, but the room looked wonderful with all the beautifully dressed tables, and all `goodies' including the food and drink `goodies'. I am sure the families of many choir members were also very active in all the preparations - and I hope you can pass on our appreciation to them. There is a joy in the singing of the choir that transmits to the audience and I am sure everyone felt uplifted as they departed.

Two of the other tickets we had were used by the father and partner of our Careaway Manager, Mrs. Alison Westwood (he is our much loved Father Christmas for the children each year). They enjoyed themselves that evening so very much he actually has offered to write a glowing account for our own little monthly Newsletter. This is unprecendented!

Again, as I said in my few words that evening, you have publicised our Charity in a wonderful way by associating our cause with activity and performance of the very best. We owe you so much for that alone.

I hope all goes well for you, for Mr.Feliows, and everyone in and associated with the choir. I look forward to your next event very much

Yours sincerely,
Mary Gittings. Hon.Sec.



How to join...
New members are always welcome by contacting the Musical Director, John Fellows on 01902 700542.

Some of our events
As part of the St. Chad's Church in Pattingham Festival of Talent, the choir performed a 'Sing Something Simple' concert on Saturday 31st May 2003 in the church.

'Sing Something Simple'
In order to raise funds for 'Relate', a concert, again of the 'Sing Something Simple' theme was held on 24th January 2004 in Pattingham Village Hall with a selection of songs from The Music Hall, Gospel/Spiritual, World War 1, Wales and Old America, The Shows and...the Beatles.
After a successful show, we received the following letter from John Birkett.


Dear John,
It has taken a little time to finalise the accounts for the marvellous Chad Singers event. I am delighted to confirm that the final figure of maney raised was £1198.00.
Thank you again, for helping Relate to raise such a magnificent sum.
Your sincerely,
John Birkett


South Staffs Conservative Association - Christmas Carols
On Friday 3rd December 2004 the choir performed a Christmas Carol Evening at Four Ashes Hall singing 'Saviour's Day', 'Candlelight Carol', 'Good King Wenceslas', 'Good enough for him', 'Amazing Christmas', 'The First Nowell', 'Christmas Medley', 'Silent Night', 'Angels' Carol' and 'O come all ye faithful'.

A few days after the event, a letter was received from Sir Patrick Cormack...

 Dear Mr. Fellows,

Just a note to thank you and your Choir for joining us at Four Ashes Hall, Enville, on Friday last. Your delightful singing certainly added to the pleasures of the evening.
We are all most grateful to you for giving up your time at such a busy period of the year.
With all good wishes,
Yours sincerely,

Sir Patrick Cormack


SHOWFANTABULOUS - NIA Birmingham
After two rehearsals held in Birmingham, the choir performed with several hundred other choristers at the 'Showfantabulous' Show at the NIA Birmingham on the 19th March 2005. The event was to celebrate 100 years of 'Rotary' and to raise funds.

The concert was open to the general public and was packed with music, song and dance. There were songs from the war years, favourite musicals, the 50's to 70's and a finale of music from the Proms. Those taking part included the Band of the Parachute Regiment, the RE Band, the Joe Loss Orchestra, the South Side Big Band, the 1000 Voices and the Cbaret International Musical Theatre Company.

It proved to be a long tiring day but all agreed that it had been an experience not to have been missed.

A cutting from the local newspaper...
 Pattingham's hugely popular Chad Singers are set to perform in front of 13,000 people in a major televised event.
The singers will join a choir of 1,000 voices when they take to the stage in Showfantabulous at the Birmingham NIA in March 2005.
As a result of their achievement, parish councillors have pledged to donate £250 to help pay towards costs of getting them there.
The event has been arranged by Midlands Rotary and hopes to raise £100,000.