Jazz Picnic Report by SageBage 

On Sunday, 6^th July the branch with its guests and their friends and friends of friends gathered at Medlar House for a Jazz Picnic.  In spite of a watery start everybody stoically stayed the course to enjoy a gradual improvement in the weather which, in spite of threatening at times, kept fine for us – after Derek and his Jazz friends struck up “Blue Skies”. 

Goosebumps had the place Jiving and Swinging till the end. Over 200 ticket paying guests raised over £1500, with Macmillan Cancer Support and British Red Cross benefitting.

Noel Coward once celebrated the stoicism of the British race with his song ‘Mad Dogs and Englishmen’ and I thought I might celebrate our own branch’s stoicism with something similar.  Unfortunately, I’m no composer so if you want to sing it, you’ll have to sing it to Coward’s tune for “Mad Dogs”

“Wild ducks and Lynsted branch eat out in the summer rain

Tonbridge doesn’t care to, Tunbridge Wells wouldn´t dare to,
But Medway, may I say, they too can bear the strain
Yes, our branches glow if there’s rain or snow.
Maidstone - don’t go out alone - unless its fine and sunny
In Canterbury - they’re all very -  sure that eating out is funny
To champ ones jaws and eat out doors goes completely against the grain
but Wild ducks and Lynsted branch eat out in the summer rain

Out in the Weald - to picnic they’ll not yield.
 In remotest Chiselhurst they’d rather die of thirst
Than drink their gin and it - where the weather starts to ‘spit’.
In Deal and Walmer, mostly the former, they think they’ve seen the light

Down Hastings way, the thought holds sway, that eating out’s not right

In Whit-stable they too are not able and have politely to refrain

but Wild ducks and Lynsted branch eat out in the summer rain

Wild ducks and Lynsted branch eat out in the summer rain.
The keenest Bromley dweller is not that sort of feller

By Dover Quay - they’re all at sea - bravely racking their brainTo prevent riots - over others diets
In Ash-ford, they can ill afford-It’s money down the drain -
to indulge in such follies as buying macs and brollies 
In Becken-ham – they do give a damn - and try to avoid the pain

but Wild ducks and Lynsted branch eat out in the summer rain”