Dear Sir,

The opportunities to hear live music, perhaps even dancing to fabulous tunes performed by a sizeable band, have diminished in recent years.

Interestingly enough, many celebrations which do feature live music these days are relatively subdued affairs because of the expense of hiring a live band instead of a disco set-up — budgets simply don’t stretch to cover all of the other amenities that are associated with a big party.

Since I first became a professional musician in the 1950s, I’ve been well-placed to notice the differences between big occasions then and now.

Bermuda’s hotels used to hire bands for dancing mainly to keep the guests on the premises. They did more business that way. But, of course, that is not so much the case these days.

Bermudians used to patronise events produced by the likes of Shine Hayward, Dale Butler, Charly Bascome and others in great numbers. Again, those days seem to be behind us.

But they were good days. There was a certain grandeur and glory associated with those occasions.

ROSS TUZO, Warwick