Most of Andy’s mobile gig work is to provide a disco service. His karaoke-only evenings tend to be where he is the host karaoke presenter at various Tayside hotels.

So, it was as much out of curiosity as anything else that he responded to a request for a private  karaoke-style birthday party to be held in a Youth Hostel in the Angus Glens. A smallish party in terms of numbers but, as he soon found out, the guests were more than willing to make up for that in sheer enthusiasm and enjoyment.

Andy’s familiar with the Angus Glens, being a keen hill-walker (and Munro bagger) himself, so he felt an affinity with the group from the outset. The fact that they liked to sing too was just the icing on the cake. Andy felt more like a party guest than the entertainment provider. What a great night it turned out to be!

The guests had chosen this venue for their weekend of celebration as it was more informal than renting rooms in a guest-house and allowed them to come and go as they pleased. Since they first became friends, their lives and work had taken them to many different parts of the UK and abroad but they liked to keep in touch and meet up whenever possible.

Having such a diversity of geographic placements and occupational pursuits would make for an unusual and, perhaps, awkward mix of people under normal circumstance, but it neither mattered nor affected their willingness to take part in a shared experience, a celebration of  long-standing friendships, and their choice of venue, which might have prevented them from getting someone to provide the means to entertain themselves with the music they wanted, was ideal for their purpose.

Some DJs (or karaoke providers) will not take on work for smaller numbers or that proves to be so far off the beaten track.

However, in his late teens, Andy often frequented a hostel-type cottage in the Glens with other members of a youth club and he has fond memories of happy times spent enjoying the countryside and the company, all gathered round roaring log fires at night singing along to the accompaniment of a couple of accoustic guitars amateurishly strummed by young would-be musicians.

He had visions of an up-dated version of this as he happily set off with all his gear to wind his way up the narrow roads into the Glens.

And he wasn’t disappointed!

What a night they had. It was as if the party of friends were hell-bent on reliving a similar past experience and they did themselves and Andy proud. They, in turn, were amazed at Andy’s collection of karaoke tracks. He had all their requests and more and they sang on long into the night – the “meter” long forgotten.

Andy says it was just as well they had chosen a secluded spot for their weekend retreat, since only a few local deer would be left wondering what all the commotion was about, and they weren’t likely to be chapping on the door asking for the noise to be kept down.

He’s looking forward to their next get-together and hoping he gets an invite!