Choir Christmas sing hits the headlines

1 January 2026: The choir hit the headlines with its singing and charity activities during the Christmas period.   It featured in Inside Croydon, the hard-hitting local news site which ran a story on New Year’s Eve (link to story below). See story here

Not Croydon, Sutton: CMVC sings at its new Christmas venue

Inside Croydon told how the choir had sung twice at the St Nicholas shopping centre in Sutton,  on 7 and 20 December,  raising some £1800 for charities that included the Crisis Christmas appeal for the homeless. 

Inside Croydon majored on the fact that CMVC had previously sung and collected for charities at the Whitgift Centre, but was prevented from doing so ahead of Christmas 2024 as this was apparently no longer considered appropriate.   Inside Croydon dubbed the centre’s owners “the Westfield Scrooges”.

Choir name-checks itself at Sutton

Inside Croydon also reported on the choir’s Christmas concert at St John’s, Shirley, on 13 December, when it raised £1500 for Demelza Hospice Care for Children. The choir premiered Vivaldi’s Gloria and the solo slot was played by the stunning violinist Natalee Jeremic.  Shirley Friends of Demelza commented that the concert was “fantastic” and “a memorable evening”.

Three members of Epsom MVC who attended the concert and sang at the après at the Surprise commented on our “splendid performance” and the “magical” après.

CMVC had a further Christmas celebration when it staged a social at Sandilands on 18 December.  Organiser Mark Hughes produced a memorable programme while the choir ladies provided an enormous spread of Christmas food. Performance highlights included Mike Piddock's Bare Necessities, Bob Dell's Born Free on harmonica and Colin Lineham's guitar accompaniment to Gerry Upjohn's And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda.