I got it in to my head that I was Ella Fitzgerald and Aretha Franklin all rolled into one.

My fingers started clicking to the pounding rhythms of the piano and soon I was winding my broad hips like a trouper! Oh my goodness, what would the folks back home think? I personally blame it on the lights. For the duration of those two songs, I forgot about the kids at home and the basketful of laundry that still needed to be ironed, and for those few minutes on that stage... in front of that audience... I was Penny the jazz and soul singer... yeh!

But isn't that what pastimes are meant to make you feel like? Whether it's puffing down a rugby pitch on a hot Saturday afternoon with Murphy's Misfits, or chatting away with the ladies at an IWC breakfast, or slicing that golf ball in for a birdie, or sharing your opinions on that current book with a good cupper in one hand at your monthly book club, pastimes all serve one purpose - they are meant to take you away from it all, for a while at least. And the Club of Singing Diplomats and Co certainly does it for me!

"It's not just the singing that I enjoy," says Mila Khafizova-Jahnke, one of the club's first participants, "it's seeing people's response to your song, like a couple closing their eyes together as they listen to you. And then there are those milliseconds of silence after the last lingering note, and then the applause! And then you truly know that your audience has enjoyed your singing!" Mila has been with this unique musical project since its founding, three years ago. Together with her husband Olaf, and two colleagues from the German embassy, they were encouraged to put together their first recital concert, at the Russian Cultural Centre, by their singing coaches Vera Rosova and Vladimir Slavin, the founders and managers of the Club of Singing Diplomats and Co.

"The stage does not tolerate lies!" says Vladimir to me vehemently. I had asked him what was it was that he was hoping to instil in each of their students. "We try and teach more than just a system for singing better, but a way of being real, honest and open in one's performance. That's what's most important." And he should know what is or isn't most important on stage. He has been on it for 35 years. Born in 1947 in Ukraine, he graduated from two state conservatories in Saint Petersburg, Russia, as a composer and pianist and then graduated from another in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. And it was there, in 1976, that he met and later married an upcoming opera star, Vera Rosova.

I remember my first meeting with Vera last December. The lift in their apartment block opened at the fifth floor and immediately I heard the clickings of a door being unlocked. And there she was, standing before me, with cropped black hair and a dramatically extended arm that bid me welcome.

It's not an exaggeration to say that having singing lessons with Vera is one of the highlights of my week. After every scale that I sing, she pipes in words of encouragement, "bravo!", "tochno taka!" (that's it!), "shest si," (you're a six!.. which really means 10 of course here in Bulgaria!), "super si!" (you're super!). Wow, I leave the lesson almost believing that I can really sing as well as Aretha and Ella! Yes, Vera knows how to teach, and more importantly, she knows how to get the best out of her students.

She has been teaching for 25 years to both aspiring opera and estrada (kind of like normal) singers. Graduating from the conservatory in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, as an opera singer, she soon rose to fame in the neighbouring Eastern Bloc countries of Ukraine, Siberia, Serbia and even Russia because of her unique vocal range.

Both Vera and Vladimir are prizewinners of national and international competitions and festivals. And some of Vera's more successful students are now performing in far-flung countries like Australia and Italy.

"I am always amazed at how humble they are!" exclaims Mila. "They are great musicians and they know their worth, but they don't push it."

"Vladimir is one of the only people that I know that can pick up a piece of music and just play it perfectly. He is an amazing pianist!" enthuses Amanda Ordman, the secretary of the International Women's Club and the most recent of Vera and Vladimir's students.

The Club of Singing Diplomat and Co now boasts 12 performances and an ever-growing membership with representatives from Russia (Vera and Vladimir) Moldova (Martha Madan, a professional opera singer and wife of the Moldovan ambassador), Czech Republic (Martin Klepetko, Czech ambassador, trumpet player and professional conductor) Germany (Mila and Olaf Jahnke, staff of the German embassy), France (Arnuad Joanny, teacher at the Lycee Francais Alphonse de Lamartine), UK (Keneward Hill from the British Council), US (Ken Stuart of the Judicial  Strengthening  Initiative/USAID) and South Africa (yep, that would be me!). There is also Bulgarian representation in Galya Geogieva, a stunningly beautiful young lady with passionate ambitions of stardom. I saw her for the first time at my first club concert this past January. She was enviably confident. And it was obvious to me, as I stood watching her from the side of the stage, that she was enjoying every moment of her time on it.

"It's important to us that there is a representative from Bulgaria," says Vladimir of Galya, "because Bulgaria is our host country."

And for the expats living here in Sofia, this original musical initiative offers pasttime singers a place where they can stretch out their vocal chords to the reward of that all-coveted warm sound of applause.

"It was a good mix of variety and talents," said Murray Te Huki, a teacher at the Anglo-America School, commenting on the January concert, which varied from show tunes to opera renditions of Carmen. His wife Jennifer added: "It was interesting, to see people you know sharing an aspect of their life... a talent that you didn't know they possessed!" ("It was the lights that made me do it," I wanted to say in my own defense.) And as I listened to her, one hot Sofia day, I could hear faint splashes on the other end of the phone, as her son paddled in a pool beside her, and then suddenly she declared: "Yeh...we liked it!"

Vladimir has dreams for the Club of Singing Diplomats and Co. He wants to see it presenting concerts not only in other major cities in Bulgaria but also in countries that are represented by members of the club. It is an ambitious dream, for it is one that realistically will need major sponsorship to fulfil. And yes, sponsors for the club's concerts are always welcome! But Vladimir is not deterred, for to him Bulgaria has already enabled him to live out many of his dreams and hopes.

Being an expat and finding ways to unwind and get away from it all is an experience that affects most of us. And if dreaming you're Tiger Woods, or Will Greenwood or even Aretha once a week helps soothe those suffocating strains of living an expat life, then why not go for it!

So if you would like to see the Arethas and Sinatras of the expat community strut their stuff, catch them on their next concert at the Chamber Hall of Bulgaria Hall (Zala Bulgaria) at 7pm on Sunday June 17.

For ticket information and/or if you are interested in singing lessons or in joining the club, please feel free to contact Vladimir Slavin at vl_slavin@mail.ru or 088/ 856 28 72.
All levels of talents are welcome!