At the last meeting of Westbury Active Retirement Club (ARC) in the URC church hall on Tuesday 18th February, the members and visitors were entertained and amused to hear Mirander Pender perform some of her songs and talk about her career.
The club reports, “After some elementary guitar lessons in her youth, her interest in playing had to take second place as everyday life took over. Some years later she was diagnosed with cancer, but fortunately it was caught early and she managed to recover from that bleak period in her life. Having overcome such a frightening experience, she felt somehow liberated and set about embracing life with renewed confidence. Fortunately this included taking up the guitar again with a new course of lessons to build on her existing technique.
“Some years later whilst attending a concert featuring Richard Digance performing his songs, she expressed her admiration to him and mentioned that she also composed and played. He said he would like to hear some of her songs. After arranging a meeting she was able to play for him and received some valuable constructive criticism and encouragement.
“Her inspiration for songs comes from everywhere and includes many observations on everyday life. From faltering teenage relationships to the trials of old age and everything in between, all delivered with a perceptive sense of humour which bought many a smile of recognition from the audience.
“Mirander obviously enjoys conceiving, composing and performing her songs to clubs such as ours in many parts of the country. We wish her continued success in the future. We would also urge any local people from the area to visit the ARC website, and come along to any of our forthcoming meetings to see if it’s for you. You will find a warm welcome awaits you, with many and varied topics to interest you.”
