THREE artists with a combined age of 220 will present “An Escape from Oratorio”, a Three Choirs fringe event offering an evening of poetry and songs in St John’s Methodist Church in St Owen Street.

Described as ‘a largely light-hearted excursion round life, the universe and everything (including, of course, steam trains), Christine and Peter Williams with singer Pat Hughes, will present songs ranging from Mozart and Pergolesi to Gershwin and Ivor Novello and poems from Shakespeare to Roger McGough, with railway buffs catered for by Housman, Hardy, Austen, Dannie Abse, Edward Thomas and Michael Flanders.

Patricia Hughes sang with the Carl Rosa Opera and with the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company and was a member of the Royal Philharmonic Chorus under the baton of Sir Thomas Beecham. Peter Williams, a former Hereford Cathedral School pupil, became interested in poetry speaking 25 years ago, winning the Lockwood West Poetry Speakers Award in 2002. Christine Williams, former head of modern languages at Belmont Abbey School, plays trumpet and cornet in local wind bands and plays piano as both accompanist and soloist at many local charity events.

Tickets are £5 on the door and the excursion pulls out promptly at 2.45pm on Monday, August 10, returning at 4pm in good time to get to Evensong in the Cathedral.