However, the lengthy gap has enabled Anne to put together a fine collection of songs, some of which are very new indeed (“The Reverend Edmund Jones” was written a matter of two weeks before it was recorded!) and some of which are very old indeed (the lyrics to “The Small Black Cat” were written in 1976 or thereabouts). The title is taken from “Drake’s Drum” but fits thematically with most of the other songs – the notion that we spend a lot of time waiting and wishing to be rescued.

So in the course of the fourteen songs on the album we meet various dancing creatures, including a minister who saw fairies, a dragon and a small black cat … we revisit a few fairy tales including a rather embittered Cinderella … we muse on the nature of love, heroism and patriotism and yes, there’s a small collection of ancient Greeks, as well. As a bonus there is an arrangement of the traditional ballad of “Silkie”, which Anne has been wanting to record for years.

Four of the songs were composed at Hawkwood College, Stroud, at weekends run by Anne’s friends Caitlin and John Matthews. Must be something in the water!

Musicians on this album include the usual suspects of Steafan Hannigan and Mike O’Connor, but also introduce the talents of Matt Crum, whose abilities on the keyboards and clarinet add a fresh new dimension to the arrangements. Julia Lane plays harp on one song, and she and her partner Fred Gosbee add some vocal harmonies to another.