I was a bit nervous when I first joined a pop choir that included a weekly pub singalong. I needn’t have worried
When I walked into Auberge, a pub near Waterloo station in London, on Thursday 21 October 2021, I didn’t know a soul. By kicking-out time, I had 50 new friends. I’ve been back almost every Thursday since.
On that fateful autumn night, I was at a bit of a low ebb. Recently single, hurtling towards 40 … To get out of my rut, I had signed up for a taster session with London City Voices, a pop choir. I knew how uplifting singing could be – I’d been in another choir pre-Covid – but the real draw was LCV’s post-rehearsal pub singalongs.
Still, I was a bit nervous about the pub part. What if I ended up on my own in the corner? Not a chance – I’d never met a friendlier bunch. I got chatting to a man clutching a whole bottle of red wine and a single glass. “I just buy a bottle to save going back to the bar all the time,” Arasan explained. I realised I had found my people.
An hour later, I was belting out Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Survive, then getting a second bottle of red to share with Arasan and another choir member, Maddy. Our Thursday wine club is still going strong today, and has expanded to nights in, days out and holidays together.
