"The house lights dimmed, the row upon row of now darkened faces stared at the stage and the curtains were drawn to reveal a semi-circle of seated youngsters who started the evening with a selection of Christmas carols and songs. There was even a cameo appearance stage right by a lone piper in the shape of Mr. Brian Jones, instigator and creator of this special show. “Wirral Sound”, the collective name of Moreton Boys and Girls Brigade Brass Band, had set the scene and the “main event”, that had packed Heswall Hall with a sell-out audience of nearly 250 people, soon followed.

Brian Jones, now minus bagpipes, picked up his more familiar Martin D18 guitar and introduced his very talented family, now rejoicing under their stage name, The Jones Family.There was his wife Helen (vocals), his two very attractive daughters, Laura (vocals) and Sam (vocals and electric bass), and his multi-talented son Andrew (guitar, mandolin and bazouki). Andrew had already established himself on the acoustic music scene having toured Australia with the Mersey-based country music star, Charlie Landsborough.

The opener, preceded by a few of Brian’s “Christmas cracker” jokes to put the audience in the mood, was Ian Chesterman’s, “The Pleasure of your Company”, quickly followed by the American song, “Go Tell it on the Mountain”. The first surprise song of the evening, “Seven Little Girls”, a 1959 top 3 chart song, was superbly carried off by the band, complete with tongue-in-cheek choreography by, “the girls“. The warmth of the audience was tangible and continued unabated for the rest of the night. “The Holly and The Ivy”, “Oban” and “Let it Snow” followed and, “Only Remembered”, (the words written in1808 by a Scot from Edinburgh and the tune added many years later by an American when it became a Baptist hymn), brought the first half to a close. The sprinkling of magic dust was completed and the “feel good” factor could well and truly be seen on the faces of the people who enjoyed an interval drink and a chat in the Foyer bar.

It gave time for a bit of “folk spotting” and it was good to see the great and the good of the Wirral folk scene had turned out, including Tom Topping, Colin Henderson, Mal Lowe, Eddie Morris, John Owen and Brian’s big brother, Gordon Jones, no stranger to fame following his days with the iconic Scottish Band, Silly Wizard, who are still revered today and live on through their many brilliant albums.

We all resumed our seats and the 2^nd half started much as the first with “Wirral Sound”opening with a Christmas medley before The Jones Family launched into their second set. The Christmas theme continued, complete with more of those “cracker” jokes from Brian. Songs like, “The Shining Star”, “Merry Little Christmas”, and, “In the Bleak Midwinter”, (a lovely version this) made us all really think about the season. Three non-traditional songs, Cyril Tawney’s “There are no lights on our Christmas Tree”, Colin Henderson’s, “Let Love come down at Christmas” and Ian Chesterman’s, “Bells at Christmas”, also made us think of the true meaning of this 2000 year-old celebration.

Time had flown and we were on the “pudding course” and, in our minds, almost waiting for our “After Eight” mints and coffee as the band took the evening out with their regular finisher, a song made memorable by The Tom Topping Band during their long and successful career, Ian Chesterman’s, “Next Time Around”. There was just time for the well-deserved encores, the obligatory, “White Christmas” and, of course, the classic Robbie Burns ending song,“Auld Lang Syne”. As usual The Jones Family did a superb version of this with the people in the rows of seats throughout the hall swaying from side to side, arms linked, at the end of a tremendous evening.

With their lovely close harmony singing, tight instrumentation and liberal sprinkling of humour they lit up the night like the biggest tree you could find. I had long since given up on the magic of Christmas, like the old cynic I had become, but tonight I started to believe again thanks to The Jones Family."

Ian Chesterman