There was a lot of socialising in the Isle of Man as baritone player Jean Bloomfield remembers "It was great, a wonderful time. A lot of parties, almost every night I would say at one person's or another. We did smoke a bit of pot, not very much I must admit - it seems quite mild by nowadays standards. We used to sit and listen to wonderful music - marvellous big bands and I remember Stan Kenton really being the new boy on the block and everyone was amazed at the "Peanut Vendor" ; I can remember loving the records of Ray Charles .

We used to have some wonderful music sessions although we tended to socialise with people in our own section. I was saxophonist and I would talk to the other sax players from Johnny Dankworth band, Jack Parnell and Ken Mackintosh of course..

Return to Index