2nd Place - Out & About: After The Band Had Gone

I titled this 'After the Band Had Gone' - which was exactly the case. It was taken at a charity 24-hour Pianothon in aid of 'A Room For Tilly' - raising money for a padded bedroom for my (then) three year old niece who had just been diagnosed with the incredibly rare genetic disorder Smith Magenis Syndrome. My brother in law - an exceptionally talented musician - played the piano non stop for 24 hours supported by the good folks of Redditch and various other musicians who joined in to help keep him going. After one band had left the stage my 78 year old mother - Maggie - took up position on the drums! For me the photograph challenges all of the pre-conceptions of 'old age'. At the time Mum was recovering from recently loosing her best friend - my Dad - who she had been with since the age of 15. She was coping with the shock of her grand-daughters diagnosis. And she was herself recovering from a stroke. None of that comes across. Nor does the fact that she is rapidly approaching 80. As young as you feel?? Or just that the people who get the best out of life are the ones who make the best of what life gives them!