Hello everyone! 🙂
Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ blog and I’m Tim Bradley!
On Thursday 22nd October 2026, we had a party/concert to celebrate what would’ve been my sister Bethan’s 40th birthday, one year ahead of her actual birthdate which is next September. The birthday party/concert was held at Bethel Baptist Church in Cardiff.
It was a fantastic evening filled with 1930s and 1940s music performed by the Tony Jacobs orchestra. My parents and I have enjoyed Tony Jacobs and his orchestra over the years. It was great to have them join us for our special birthday party to remember Bethan.
The party began at 6pm with friends and family joining us for food and drink in the lounge. There was quite a lot of food on the table and the caterers looked after us so well that evening. I believe I might’ve had too many pizza slices and mini sausages that evening. 😀
The concert began at 7:30pm, and I made the welcome remarks to introduce the event, which were warmly appreciated by those in attendance. I was informed I spoke very well that evening, which I greatly appreciate and I’m glad I had the privilege to start off the concert.
We then had the music performed by Tony Jacobs and his orchestra. The concert had two halves with an interval that took place at 8:20pm. The concert resumed at 8:45pm before finishing at 9:30pm. 🙂 There were many musical moments to take away from that evening.
This included musical numbers I was pretty familiar with from seeing film and TV shows, including ‘Everybody Loves My Baby’ and ‘Nagasaki’, which I’ve heard in ‘Jeeves & Wooster’. The song ‘Anything Goes’ was also performed by guest singer Catherine Sykes.
There were duets in the concert, including the famous Fred Astaire number ‘Cheek to Cheek’ performed by Tony Jacobs and Catherine Sykes. There was also the song ‘Sisters’ (which I’ve heard in the 1954 film ‘White Christmas’) performed by Catherine Sykes and Sue Greenway.
Sue Greenway is a talented saxophone and clarinet player in the Tony Jacobs orchestra. In my introduction for the concert, I mentioned my sister Bethan liked dancing to the music of ‘The Teddy Bears’ Picnic’ performed by 1930s British dance leader Henry Hall. 🙂
I recall hearing that song in one of the ‘Dad’s Army’ episodes. I was hoping that Tony Jacobs and his orchestra would perform ‘The Teddy Bears’ Picnic’ song and I’m very glad they did. It was so lovely to hear the song, especially to commemorate Bethan’s birthday.
Throughout the concert, my Dad and I took photos and video clips of Tony Jacobs and his orchestra performing. I’m pleased we took photos of the special evening. Please feel free to check out the photos in the gallery below as well as in the video I’ve compiled together.
Whilst the party/concert took place to celebrate Bethan’s birthday, we also raised money for the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children in London, better known as GOSH. We received plenty of donations from those who attended that evening, which is brilliant!
There’s currently a JustGiving page for Bethan’s birthday party to raise money for the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London. If you’d like to make a donation via the JustGiving page, please feel free to click on the link. Any donation given is greatly welcome.
If you’re interested in jazz music and happen to be in the UK, please free to check out Tony Jacobs’ website page here. There are plenty of jazz and big band music events, including concerts and ‘weekends away’ to enjoy with music that ranges from the 1930s and 1940s.
All in all, ‘Bethan’s Birthday Party’ was a very successful evening for my parents and me. We’re pleased many friends and friends joined us for the celebration, we’re happy the Tony Jacobs orchestra performed for us, and we’re glad we received donations for GOSH.
To do this for my sister Bethan reminded me and my parents how much she enjoyed life and lived life to the full, despite her heath problems. The fact we were able to have such a splendid evening of music to remember Bethan is a wonderful, precious memory to cherish.
Hope you enjoy the photos and the video!
Thanks for reading and watching!
Bye for now!
Tim 🙂