11 May - the Z/Yen team demonstrated its own ability to “march to the same drum beat”, as the latest Z/Yen Symposium comprised a Samba Drums lesson from Inspire-works. Clients might be a little concerned that Z/Yen people are a pretty uncoordinated lot (at least once Samba drums are involved) but will probably be unsurprised to learn that Z/Yen folk used enthusiasm and volume to make up for any shortcomings in talent. Ian, for example, should never be trusted with a huge Surdo drum; indeed, once he was relegated to one of the Ganzas he covered up his rhythmic inadequacies with an ear-drum-splitting solo vocal rendition of The Peanut Vendor which is, suitably enough, a similar but subtly different rhythm.

It was the last of those heady, post-election, inter-regnum days - the neighbours might have been forgiven for thinking that an ungoverned mob had started the revolution in St Helen’s Place. Indeed, rumour has it that the distant sound of unruly drums hurried the Westminster politicians into forming a government pronto. In any case, there was no UK government when we started drumming and there was a UK government once we finished. As for the neighbours, they had in fact been invited to join us. None turned up for the drumming itself (surprise surprise), but we did have some neighbourly help with the very welcome celebratory refreshments afterwards. Most Z/Yen people are more naturally gifted at synchronized imbibing than drumming, but after just a few minutes no-one seemed to mind.