Note: We are unsure of the date of this concert but it would obviously predate Constance’s marriage in 1942, possibly 1935 taking into consideration the date that Dr. Crane came to the hospital.

Pleasing Concert by Pupils of Miss Constance Hall

Dr. Crane Explains.

Great pleasure was given to a large audience at the Rushden Adult School Building on Tuesday night, when the pupils of Miss Constance Hall, L.T.C.L. presented a concert.

Miss Hall is a gifted elocutionist who has always been generous in her assistance of good causes, and it was typical of her that the concert should have been organised on behalf of the Rushden House Sanatorium.

The programme was simple. There was a sequence of recitations and dialogues, and after an interval, when guests were served with refreshments, seven of the pupils dressed up and performed a play in rhyme.

The recitations were all very short, and the most remarkable thing about them was the unmistakable impress of the teacher on the pupils. Those who recited – they were all girls – relied entirely upon beauty of the voice and the simplest possible form of interpretation. They had no mannerisms and their hands took no part in the proceedings. Evidently the plan was to do a little and do it well, and the girls spoke beautifully and without affectation.

The dialogues were presented with intelligence and charm, and the play “Six-Nought-Nothing” was very sweet treatment of fairy-tale material.

The pupils taking part in the concert were Lily Desborough, Helen Buttling, Betty Codgbrook, Constance Dickerson, Winnie Desborough, Vera Jones and Gertie Jaques. Miss Kathleen Walker L.R.A.M. of Bedford assisted with pianoforte solos.

Dr. J.H. Crane expressed the thanks of the Sanatorium patients and staff. They all knew, he said of the good wok that Miss Hall did for charity, and he could assure her that she could not support a better charity than his patients.

At a public institution such as the Sanatorium there were certain things that a County Council could do and there were certain things that the auditor would not allow. He had a most sympathetic and generous committee to look after his patients and there was no more sympathetic and helpful chairman than Mr. Sharwood.

Some things depended, however, on outside efforts and he would like to take the opportunity to thank the people of Rushden, Irthlingborough and Wellingborough for their very great generosity to the patients during the 14 years he had been there. They had been most generous and kind and the patients appreciated it very much.

“If you had been at the Sanatorium at Christmas” said the doctor “you would have seen that everyone had a jolly good time.” Sometimes he got little patients whose parents had not much money to buy clothing etc., and they felt the cold. That was where the little fund came in useful.

Dr. Crane concluded with an amusing reference to a recent occasion on which he was described as a Scotsman, and hastened to explain that he had not sunk to that but was an Irishman. A friend who read the misdescription wrote “Be Jabbers, if you’re a Scotsman I’m a Hindoo.” (Laughter)

As a result of the concert the Sanatorium will benefit £4.