Listen to ‘Robin on a Starch pack at: https://youtu.be/eYdUx_TDzSo

Our genes might mean that we inherit something covetable, like beautiful “peat bog eyes”, but they can also bear something more sinister. 

I hope that this story of a 79 year old “newby” singer songwriter might strike a chord with some. I hope it may even inspire a donation to a very relevant cause, Prevent Breast Cancer and gene research. Their excellent work needs your support to ensure that fewer families are affected by this tenacious and often inherited disease.

As a grandfather in one such family that has experienced the loss of both a partner and a child, my memories are both joyous and heartbreaking. But life does go on and can still be filled with wonderful people and experiences that make it brilliant…

At the grand age of 79 I know only too well that life is a series of surprises, some very welcome. Others not so much.

One such surprise was that in the early hours of a morning in October, with no previous form or intention - I wrote a song. It was a culmination of random thoughts (I have a lot of those) but somehow they all came together. 

Thought #1 Like-minded ukulele enthusiast Trevor, who I met in Cumbria on a ‘Stroll and Strum’ warmly described one of our companions as being able to ‘charm the robin off a starch pack’. This was an expression I’d not heard before, but was very taken with, particularly as I remember the robin he was referring to, from the Reckitts starch box that was a staple for families such as mine in the 40s and 50s.

Thought #2 I've always liked a Robin. I'm a fair weather gardener, but will often glance up from weeding or digging to spy one perched quietly, watching my progress and hoping for an insect tidbit. They’ll appear from nowhere and depart as suddenly, but their bright eyes take it all in.

Thought #3 My wife Stephanie had shiny, dark wavy hair and lovely deep brown eyes. Her mother said she owed these ‘peat bog eyes’ to her Irish ancestry. 

Thought #4 There have been plenty of pairs of ‘peat bog eyes’ in our children and grandchildren, none more so than for Jo, our first daughter. It was she who was wrapped warmly in a Moses Basket on a magical Christmas Eve when Stephie and I crunched our way home after Midnight mass, through a blanket of sparkling freshly fallen snow.

Thought #5 The first fifty years of my life passed with more ups than downs. I was lucky enough to spend most of it with both Stephanie and Jo and to accumulate many marvellous memories which still delight. But in 2008 we lost Stephanie to breast cancer and then tragically, in 2015, Jo too. 

All these early hours thoughts, very surprisingly, turned into my song. 

Not a love song, but a song about love, named after the Robin on the starch pack with the dark shiny eyes. And you can listen to it at https://youtu.be/eYdUx_TDzSo (copy and paste the link into your browser).

For me, ’Robin on a Starch Pack’ is very much the result of small steps taken along a new path. 

In spring 2007, on a whim, I decided to clear some of the junk that had accumulated in the attic of our Swanmore home during the 30 years we had lived there. In amongst the piles of junk, was my father’s banjolele, circa 1920/30, estimated cost 2s 6d old money. It was damaged, but not irreparably.  A few weeks later with new strings and skin I determined to learn to play it. Progress was slow, not helped by big hands, sensitive tuning and a complete lack of any musical background.

Fast forward to December 2014 when I was (only) 72. My now good friend, Beverly Lambert, had put a notice in our Parish Magazine suggesting forming a Ukulele Club. Now the banjolele is a close noisy cousin to the ukulele and on a second whim I asked if I might come along to the proposed inaugural meeting. Although I had made it clear that I had little or no skill, the answer was an unqualified “yes” and I became a Soberton Strummer.

Those two small steps had taken me to the start of a musical path. I learnt about chords and strum patterns, key and time and the word ‘Gig’ entered my vocabulary. I made new friends. Brian who encouraged my singing. Shaun who brought fun and discipline to my learning. Peter who with the skill of a talented luthier, modified my banjolele so it became much more straightforward to play and “the Wednesday Group” who reinforced what a pleasure it is to make music with others. I learnt the words ‘open Mic’ and with it the confidence to sing in public.

Fast forward to October 2022, and my lightbulb moment. A song, penned in the early hours. Astonishing!

So I am now a singer/songwriter. I suspect this is a one off, but who knows?

With the help of a new friend, Dafydd Hughes, I’ve made a recording. A song with the unlikely title 'Robin on the Starch Pack' Now that’s one for the ‘bucket list.'

I hope you and others will like it (or at least like the sentiment and enthusiasm). In fact, as mentioned previously, I'm hoping that my song might inspire a donation from you. 

You might also like to share the song with friends or colleagues whom you think may enjoy it and who might be inspired to make a donation too - Please do! I would appreciate this very much. Thank you.

Teddy Quincey.