Becoming a recording artist had never been on my “Things to Do” list but when an opportunity arises I think it’s good to try something new. That is how I came to be standing in St Thomas’s Church in Stockport alongside other members of the St. Anne’s Hospice Festival Choir on a Friday evening and a Saturday in October. Having fought off nerves to sing with the choir at the Bridgewater Hall at Christmas, and stood in awe looking out at a sea of expectant faces in Stockport Town Hall for our Summer Concerts I assumed singing to a microphone would by comparison be a walk in the park. There would be several pluses; nobody would be looking at me, I would not have to worry about tucking in my white blouse and I wouldn’t have a panic when I realised I had mislaid my blue scarf. However I was wrong. Singing without an audience has its own challenges. Personally I found it difficult not having any sort of feedback from an audience and while recording gives the chance to repeat a song until it is without mistakes it is actually very tiring to repeat the same piece (sometimes the same few bars) over and over until it is perfect. But of course perfection is what we all wanted so we threw out hearts and souls into it and at the end of the recording I don’t think there was one person who didn’t say what a great experience it had been. I can’t wait to hear the finished result and I hope my friends and relatives feel the same as they will be getting their own CD’s for Christmas!