Friday night and the lights are low

Abba was one of those bands whose music everybody liked, even though at the height of their fame it was terribly unfashionable in certain musical circles to admit to it. The songs were crafted with stereotypical Scandinavian professionalism, which although it sometimes made them slightly clinical they never seemed to fall into the 'churned-out soul-lessness' trap that other successful bands have succumbed to. So when friends suggested getting a gang of us together and going to an open-air performance of Abba music at Warwick Castle, performed by the English National Orchestra and cast from the stage production of Mamma Mia, (bring a picnic) we thought it'd be great fun.

They certainly wrote some great songs; we just hadn't realised just how badly they could be performed! If those singers were more than understudies it made us very glad we've never travelled to Town to see the stage show. Still, the picnic was good and we met some nice people there, some of whom had decided to get totally into the spirit of the thing and dressed up as Abba members (several OS Agnethas!)

The driver of the minibus that took us there was extraordinary. He didn't really know where he was going, he didn't get out of 2nd gear (but didn't go fast enough to strain the engine) and every time someone spoke to him he slowed down to reply. Not a natural multi-tasker! We were pleased that it was a different driver for the return journey ... but I'm not sure he was thrilled because by then we were well into singing. Not Abba stuff - Beach Boys, Monkees and rugby songs. It was difficult singing the harmonies because of the challenge of working out what key the melody was being sung in. All of them, I think! It was great fun going out as a group so it wasn't a totally wasted evening.