Country fans mark 30th anniversary

HOWDY folks! Country and western fans headed for Diss on Sunday to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Silver Dollar Club. The club currently has about 130 members, and there was full house at the Park Hotel where the get-togethers are held on alternate Sundays.

HOWDY folks! Country and western fans headed for Diss on Sunday to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Silver Dollar Club.

The club currently has about 130 members, and there was full house at the Park Hotel where the get-togethers are held on alternate Sundays. It was also a time to reminisce, as the guests included Isabel and Mike Coe from the Suffolk Punch Band, who helped get the club off the ground, and other musicians who had played at the venue over the decades.

Co-founders were Margaret and Tony Arbon, of Scole, whose passion for country music is as strong as ever.

“We love it, and it was a great night,” Mrs Arbon said.

The club has raised thousands of pounds for charity by holding raffles, and during the evening a cheque for £3,000 was presented to Michael Clarke from the Bury St Edmunds branch of Guide Dogs for the Blind.

“We do well at our raffles and often have a game of Irish bingo. Everyone stands up, they call a number out and if you've got it you sit down. The last one standing is the winner,” she explained.

Guest compere for the evening was Brian Mann, from BBC Radio Suffolk's country music programme, and entertainment was by West Virginia.

The club's next evening is on September 14. The band will be Tennessee Whisky, and doors open at 7pm. Entry is £5 per person.