IT was with some trepidation that we 40 members of Malton and Norton Amateur Operatic Society headed up the road to Pickering on Saturday, May 26, for the first ever complete performance there of one of our shows.

The trepidation was all the greater because we had just performed 'Serenade 2001' for two nights in the Malton Milton Rooms, to pitifully small, albeit very enthusiastic audiences. Our thanks to them, but if we could attract only 80 in our home town, we wondered, how many would bother to come and see us in Pickering's Kirk Theatre on a Saturday night?

What a delight it was, then, to play to a near-capacity audience in the Kirk Theatre! Pickering did us proud, as did all those who drove in from the Malton area and other places to see the show and swell an audience that inspired us to give one of our best performances in years.

It's not easy for amateur musical societies and performing groups to make ends meet as our costs mount and we see our audiences dwindle. Without audiences and support we simply cannot survive.

So thank you, Pickering and all those who saw the May 26, 'Serenade 2001', for bolstering our resolve and making us feel at home. We look forward to seeing you all at 'Half a Sixpence' in October.

Updated: 11:12 Thursday, June 07, 2001