Tag Archives: cocktail evening

Last night marked the very first cocktail evening at The Fourteas in Stratford upon Avon!

I was incredibly nervous and excited as I had been asked to alter my repertoire to focus on less wartime patriotic and more blues and swing. That meant learning some more songs and performing them confidently on the night!

As some of you know, I have an issue with my memory and in times of stress and fluster it is even worse! My head is constantly full of whizzing and bouncing ideas, thoughts, worries, reminders, ideas, daydreams and all manner of ridiculousness. Then I have to somehow squeeze lyrics to songs in between, like packing peanuts. In times of trauma or extreme upset my brain says “No thank you” and pretty much shuts down to defend itself. So I have to try and keep calm and collected as much as possible (at least outwardly!). Memorising the lyrics and timing to 24 songs can be either a walk in the park or swimming through treacle. Luckily last night I swallowed my pride and brought some lyric sheets with me for the new songs. With a quick glance at the start of odd verses I was able to jog my memory and move smoothly through the latest editions! Phew!

The evening was fantastic. The Fourteas’ new owner Zenios was a wonderful host and greeted each guest, chatted and made sure everything went like clockwork. The staff were attentive and brought around fabulous cocktails and mocktails to each table, never leaving people waiting for too long. I enjoyed a virgin pina colada and strawberry daiquiri!

At 7.30pm I started singing and was greeted to wonderful applause, smiles and toe tapping throughout. Us singers feed off of audience reactions, so I was on cloud nine for the entire evening!

Seeing a couple of familiar faces really helped me feel at ease and it was great to get back to a sense of normality again.

The Fourteas is a 1940’s tearoom situated in Sheep Street, Stratford upon Avon. It features indoor and outdoor seating and a wonderful vintage atmosphere. These new cocktail evenings will certainly add a classy and decadent evening venue to the town! If last night was anything to go by, this is going to be an incredibly successful venture for them! I hope to be a regular face (and voice) on Friday evenings!