The Rose Hill is a gorgeous pub, community venue, and recording space a two minute walk from my flat. Every Monday, during term time, a bunch of folk and folklore enthusiasts come together to learn original arrangements of traditional songs, taught by Jo Burke, a wonderful singer and brilliant teacher.

The end-of-term cabaret is a magical thing. Because we practice on a Monday, it’s rare that the choir stick around for a drink afterwards.

So even though I’ve been singing with these people for two years, there are a lot of them I barely know,.

The cabaret, in which choir members get up and sing a song or recite a poem, is therefore a lovely thing, where one gets a bit more of a sense of these strange people I have been singing with for all these months.

My own contribution was to sing Even Keel, and then finish things off with a cover of Just Like Christmas, which I taught myself earlier in the day. Both a bit ropey, but I sung them pretty well.

I also particularly enjoyed Freya’s supergroup, The Rose Hill Massive, Steve’s Sussex folk tune of lust and ale, and David and Anne’s take on June and Johnny Carter-Cash.

Oh, and Saoirse’s beautiful singing and guitar playing – I’m super excited to hear her new album next year.

The cabaret started with Jo playing the trumpet – badly. She’s only just started learning it, and it was something of a relief to see someone so accomplished be so shit. It means there’s hope for us all.

The night finished with Jo on the piano singing Colour of Amber, and me joining in on tenor part from my seat, confidently at first, but then increasingly quietly, in part because I didn’t want to detract from Jo’s performance, and in part because I didn’t want her to hear how badly I had learned my harmonies! Oh well. I’ll get it before the recording, I’m sure.