I have two people to thank for my love of music. Firstly my dad’s mum, Mercy Tapster (what a name) who lived in Stourmouth, Kent. What a character she was, so funny and full of life, always laughing. She played the Piano by ear and cycled into Canterbury in the 1920s to play for the silent movies, as well as playing the organ at church the following morning. I remember her saying, ‘The music always sounds better when you play with your eyes closed’ …. and she was right.
The second person in my musical life was my mum’s dad, Arthur Hamblin. In addition to running the Ledbury Post Office and reffing the local soccer matches, he played the Piano and ran a dance band. Here he is at the Piano and below is him with his band on New Year’s Eve, 1922, at Ludlow Town Hall. (He’s the one with his hands crossed.)
