Stonor House has dominated our last two walks on the Chiltern Way. I'm glad we saw it without the stage on the first one, but it was great to see the stage from the start of Saturday's walk.
Chris Holland (Jools' brother) and his small ensemble started the evening with some gentle blues. They also played one of my favourite Squeeze songs, Tempted.
Jools' Rhythm 'n' Blues Orchestra was massive, in every sense of the word! They were a long way away but the big screen behind them meant we could see what was going on. If you look at the top right hand corner of that image, above Jools' hands, you can see the crowd reflected in the shiny piano.
Chris Holland played keyboards in the orchestra, with his hat on. [We only decided at 4pm that we would go to the gig so we were delighted that tickets were still available.]
Jools was his own polished and witty compere. [With 4000 - 4500 people expected, we anticipated a queue like we had seen the previous evening and avoided it by coming in from the north, but there was no queue. There was no major delay on leaving either, much to our surprise and delight.]
The orchestra was very tight, as you'd expect under Jools' baton, with soloists taking turns to shine in the centre spotlight. They played a wide range of stuff, Jools' own composition Mick the Miller amongst them.
I do love a good bass sax - the sound is almost rude! It always reminds me of the Bonzos, of course. They did a stompingly good version of Honeysuckle Rose.
I'd not heard of Louise Marshall before but she was very good, and she stayed on stage as a backing singer.
Here's Louise again.
Mid-way through Jools' set this tiny frog scared the people next to us. Having caught it in a grape box, I released it a long way back from the crowd. As we left, I spotted a huge moth crawling along the gravel path: Michael rescued it by carrying it off towards a section of grass behind the first aid tent. Sadly, after flying into his hair it flew straight back towards the very bright lights illuminating the exit: let's hope it landed somewhere a bit safer this time!
The guy in the spotlight with a hat on is a Jamaican trombone and singer whose last name is Rodriguez, I think! He sang an old song whose title I have forgotten - further prompts required from the viewing audience who were there with me please...
This is Ruby Turner - she may be unrecognisable in motion in the foreground but the big screen shows her very clearly. She has a blisteringly good voice and sang the final encore of the night, the appropriately-named Peace in the Valley.
Ruby Turner again. Her songs were all good, including the ones that were new to me.
Lulu! Same problem - a tiny blurry person in front but at least there is a clear image on the screen behind.
Lulu again. She went back to her roots and sang mainly blues, but her final number was, of course, Shout. She obviously enjoys performing the song just as much as ever: it has been good to her, after all...
Okay, so the foreground is rubbish but Lulu and Jools look good on the big screen! When it got the the final moment of Shout, the audience was ahead of her: she stopped the band and reclaimed her moment, saying it was the only time she feels tall!
Lights on the crowd during the chorus of one of Lulu's belters! She really is great. Dick and Glors told me that she's 60. Wow! I hope I'm half that great at 60. Actually, I'm not sure I'm half that great now, at 50...
The stage looks like a snowdome in front of the house as the last of the daylight vanishes. Lots of lights in the crowd, but no naked flames: the people next to use were told to extinguish theirs by an H&S guard. [I've debated that point of grammar - an H&S, a H&S? Does it matter? Not a jot!]
As the last sound of the last encore faded away, the fireworks started.
They filled the sky for quite some time. The only sound, other than explosions and crackling sparks, was the gasps of awe of the audience.
Many people had left as Jools' set came to an end, presumably to avoid the rush for the car park. They missed a treat!
The fireworks must have cost as much as a small house...
Sorry there are so many photos of fireworks and so few of the performance, but fireworks are a lot easier to photograph than tiny distant people on a bright stage on a dark night!
You don't have to look at them all!
