Snippets of news and messages received......
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Do you remember a particular show?
Would you like to contact someone or just send a message to them?
Have you a short, repeatable, anecdote you would would like to tell everyone?
Just click the 'Send a message' box button and your message will be transfered
to the CODS Message board for all to see!
NODA AWARDS
We were very pleased to win two awards for the 2009 Musical 'The Baker's Wife'
The awards were..... A certificate of excellence, awarded for being one of the ten best
South West shows for 2008 to 2009 and The Wilfred Roe Trophy for the best set
presentation in the West! Well done to everyone involved.
Chris receiving the Certificate from the NODA president Robert Lumsden at the Torquay conference.
Dean and Mike receiving the trophy from the NODA president.
Photos courtesy of Stewart McPherson, www.mcphersonphotography.co.uk
Derek Lion 1925 - 2009
Members of the Society were very sad to hear of the death of Derek Lion.
Derek, together with his wife Olive, were founder members of CODS, (or COS as it was then) way back in 1965.
Through the years Derek participated in many shows and was a very active participant in the management
of the Society, serving in most offices, including Chairman.
Quoting from Hilary's tribute at his funeral service, ' Derek believed in treating people with respect
and, as a consequence he was respected in return. He was regarded as a man of inordinate good sense
and sound judgment who, whatever the circumstances, could be relied on to give good advice.
He was a pragmatic, methodical man and a stickler for following the correct procedures, which made
him much sought after and a valued committee member.'
Those of us who knew Derek in the Society will readily agree with these sentiments and remember him with great affection.
During his time in Crediton Derek was involved in a great number of organisations and
associations where he also made a significant contribution to his local community.
A quiet man, quick witted and wonderful sense of humour, he was also very modest .
While he was a key figure in the early development of the Society the accompanying photographs
had to be cropped from his favourite place on the stage ... the back row of the chorus!
Derek's long association with CODS is now being actively continued by Hilary, Jo and Philip
as they tread the boards in 'The Baker's Wife'.
Fabulous show,Tuesday.Well worth the 120 mile round trip from "proper" Pirate country!
Best wishes from Sue Digby.
The Pirates of Penzance.......
A superb show last night, shame about the sound, but we loved it. The set was spectacular & had some great touches, even the names on the map. It was exciting funny & colourful, & it's great to see CODS in such fine fettle & with new young faces & enthusiasm. By performing in the round you change a dingy barn of a school into a cosy little theatre. The foyer was beautifully decorated & set the scene as soon as one entered. Best wishes for the rest of the week.
Carole Rimmer
(Thanks Carole.... glad you enjoyed the show so much. We have traced the problem with the sound!)
Gosh! I found the site by accident today. Looking back at the photographs brought back many memories, it is
nice to see that CODS is still going strong, and that I can now keep up to date from the other side of the world.
I was in Iolanthe 1993, Merry England in '94,then Trial by Jury as the usher.
I now live in Fremantle Western Australia with Melanie and our 8 year old daughter Emily.
We moved here from Exeter about 10 years ago and run our own Fashion and Commercial Photography studio.
G & S is quite big here but not the same with the Auzzie twang!!!
Best of luck with the up coming show and I look forward to keeping up to date from now on.
Best wishes to all who might remember me.
Kind regards ......Duncan Wright.
What a cracking web site. Jacki, as in Hayes, directed me to it.
In the photos I recognize some whose thespian sell by date is long gone.
I was a set painter in the first Pinafore, afeared to do anything else.
Regards to all,from a sunny Spanish shore an ex Don and Duke.
..................... Keir Sims
(Thanks for lending the photos Keir. They're now in the 70's archive.)
Hi there,
Really enjoyed browsing through your website. My Dad (Arthur Rich) was a member of CODS from The Gondoliers in the 60's through to the 80's. My brother (Antony)sings with English National Opera - his first operatic role was in CODS Die Fliedermaus in the 70s! My sister Fran Pennington was also a member during the late 60s/ early 70s. As a small child I got roped in as various swordbearers, pages and stableboys.
In your 60s archive there is a photo which presumably has not been identified with a particular show titled "Anyone Know?" It's from Merrie England. Check it with the full cast shot from the same archive. I always thought that this was the best of that first crop of shows. A really good score with some belting tunes, lovely costumes/scenery and a really strong cast with some very talented singers and actors....Paul Evans, Keir and Shirley Sims, Mary Discombe, Vera Hamish-Wilson, Robin Turner (and the old man) to name but a few. I think the producer was Walter Hosegood.
However, my main reason for e-mailing......Would you be interested in having some downloadable audio files on the site from earlier productions? If so, I can let you have some. My father was a very talented amateur singer. He died back in the early 90's. Some years ago my brother put a letter in the local paper to see if anyone had any recordings of his singing. John Cope (another CODS talent) had some 1/4 inch tapes in his attic of four shows - "Ruddigore", "Oklahoma", "Patience" and "The Quaker Girl". These were basic home tape recordings with one mic probably at the side of the stage. Remarkably, the tapes were still in reasonable, playable condition. The recording quality wasn't great but with a bit of processing and noise reduction I managed to convert what I thought were the best performances (and some were really very good) into quite acceptable digital wav files. Obviously, there's quite a bit of Arthur Rich but there are also solos, duets, ensembles and choral performances from other cast members. Anyway, if you're interested in a copy mail me back or 'phone me and I'll happily send you a CD.
…………………. Neil Rich
To all concerned,
What memories this site has brought back, seeing all those photos and particularly those of my talented father, Arthur.
Even some of myself with Dad in Fledermaus!
Best wishes to you all,
……………… Anton Rich ( Tenor …. English National Opera )
