Why I Love Academix

At Academix, Tuesday nights are rehearsal night.  And for some strange reason, Tuesday nights seems to be reserved by South West Trains for spectacular delays between Waterloo and Woking.

This week was a good example. The train left late and was packed.  Then one of the passengers started a loud and passionate conversation with himself about his general dissatisfaction with life.  The poor guy was obviously not quite right in the head, but knowing this did not make it any easier hearing about his hatred of his father, his passion for smoking, and even allusions to killing.  As might be expected of a train of English commuters, we all kept our eyes down and our noses in our books.   Then, to put the tin lid on it, the train came to a halt half way home and we were informed that due to trespassers on the line they had cut the power and all trains were now stopped. I eventually got to Academix an hour late.

But as I walked into the lobby of the hall, I heard a wonderful sound. I don’t want to say it sounded like a choir of angels because that would be corny, but from the lobby it really did sound ethereal, as if there were at least thirty of them.  I was puzzled because it didn’t sound like any of our usual songs. It turned out that Jonathan had brought a new arrangement: Don’t Sit Under The Apple Tree. It was only the second time through but Cat, Anita and Cate were already giving it the full Andrews Sisters. I sat there listening for 10 minutes, eating chez Ginsters, but with a huge smile on my face.  The ideal cure for commuting woes.