As we do not plan exactly what we are going to play, or the order, we have to be flexible to reflect the different parts of the event as well as picking up on the tastes of the guests. There always comes some point where one player can’t find the right page and as I am the librarian I have to know the order of all the folders to ensure smooth running of the music. Then there are the repeats, da capo, dal segno etc, that have to be navigated. Viennese waltzes are notorious for mistakes of this kind as they seem to go on forever and round in circles at the same time!

What we really need is a musical satnav to give us clear directions in a calm voice: “Page turn at bottom of next line”, “Go back to the beginning”, “Go to coda”, Go back to the sign and play to fine”, “Perform a U-turn at earliest opportunity”, “STOP! You’ve finished this one!” Somewhere along the way, one or other of us will either put in a repeat that isn’t there or leave one out so we keep a tally and the rule is ‘first one to make a mistake buys the drinks afterwards’!

Thankfully, we now have a bit of a rest until the new year with our next wedding in January and a concert for Scherzando String Orchestra to plan for February when we will play the marvellous Introduction and Allegro for Strings by Elgar.

For this we will have our very own live satnav – he’s called a conductor!