AFTER performing at the Christmas event last year in Hale Barns, I was thrilled to be invited back to perform at the Hale Barns Carnival this year.

Val and I were made very welcome by the organisers and all the volunteers who couldn’t do enough to make sure my Val, who still had her leg in a cast, was comfortable and always had a seat.

I would like to thank Max Eden and Andy Egan for inviting me to be a part of their event and for making me feel so at home. They both, along with all the lovely volunteers on the day, were fantastic hosts.

You can always tell when people put in hard work at an event because everything runs smoothly and it all seems effortless.

Of course, it takes months of planning and organising to make it look that way. It’s a good team that can organise an event of this standard and make it such a success and it was a pleasure to contribute to it with a performance of my Rat Pack set.

I’m all about promoting my genre of music and trying to keep this style of music alive, so I loved the opportunity of crooning the songs of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Tony Bennett to the wonderful crowds in Hale Barns.

It was also lovely to meet and have a chat to the family who came along to see my performance. Thank you and I appreciate your support.

One of the highlights of the day for me, as well as seeing the birds of prey that were on display, was the collection of classic cars.

I was especially thrilled to see the £5million Ferrari Lusso that once belonged to the legendary Steve McQueen. No less impressive was the actual DB5 from the James Bond film ‘Spectre’, worth just a measly £2.4 million!

Event organiser Max Eden said: “The carnival this year featured over 280 acts, and our focus throughout was to showcase the very best of the local region.

“Naturally Wayne came high on our list after his fantastic performance at Christmas in the village, and he did not disappoint, performing a rousing set on the new bigger main stage”.

After my performance, Val and I continued with the festivities as we were also celebrating our wedding anniversary that day. We went for a lovely meal and some bubbly before heading home for a romantic movie night. What a perfect day!

I have released two singles in the past few years and recently I decided to put them both together on an EP (extended playlist) and release it.

‘Danny Boy’, featuring my other single ‘What Colour Is The Wind’ , is available now from all online music stores.

I’m very proud of these songs as they both have a very special meaning to me. I hope you will download the record and have a listen.

See you next week!