SINGING AWAY IN A MANGER WITH ROD

I’VE always been a big fan of Rod Stewart. I’ve bought – yes, bought! – quite a lot of his records, and I’ve played a lot of his records on the radio. But I never imagined I’d one day find myself singing Christmas carols with the superstar in church. I’d been asked to do a reading at a carol service in a beautiful old church in Marylebone. Rod’s wife Penny, left with Rod, whom I had met from time to time and really liked, was one of the other readers. We were chatting beforehand, and I asked: ‘Is your husband coming?’ She said very quietly: ‘Yes, he’ll be here.’ But as the church filled up and it was almost time to start, there was no sign of her old man.

Then, as the vicar got up to address us all and the lights went down, an unmistakable spiky head moved in the darkness to stand in between Penny and me. The man himself!

He was very amiable, but each time one of the Christmas carols started, we all stood up and I thought: ‘Oh my God, here I am singing Away In A Manger next to Rod Stewart!’ I turned my head to one side each time I sang a note and did quite a lot of miming, and graciously he didn’t mention how bad my singing was. My kids all say I sing like Mr Bean.

Then, when the nice vicar wished us all a merry Christmas, Rod disappeared again, out of a side door, presumably to wait for Penny in his car round the corner.

The great thing was that, apart from people close behind, who must have been looking gobsmacked at the back of his spiky head, hardly any of the huge congregation knew that modest Rod was there at all.