It's the mid 1950s, Arthur's back from doing his two years national service in the navy and is secretary of Parr band. Mum, Viv  is a trainee nurse in Providence Hospital, just across the back from the Theatre Royal in St Helens. She has to send all of her or most of her money back to her mum in Ireland so she hasn't got much money for a social life so she joins the Gilbert and Sullivan society because that was cheap. You didn't have to pay to do that. As long as you could sing, you were in, so mum was in.

The society puts their show on every year at the Theatre Royal in the middle of St Helens. They need a scratch band, and they ring around several of the local musical societies and Parr Band are quite close to the Theatre Royal and traditionally send a couple of players,  but something had gone wrong they got the call and there was no one available. So dad being the secretary says , well,  I’ll do it. I’ll just pitch p and I'll play cornet.

There was a bit in the play where the cornet player had to go and stand in the wings at the side of the  stage  and when one of the actors said something he had to play a hunting horn sound and when he played  the hunting horn sound, all the chorus girls who were gathered round him , would enter the stage from his side


He said the chorus line was all girls,  but your mum was the best looking one, so  over a couple of rehearsals  and a couple of nights shows we got to chatting, and I asked her out

That's that's how I met your mum.

He told this  story to my sisters with a slightly different twist
“Your mum was very pretty, and a new girl in the chorus line, and all the band were fella’s, and they were saying saucy things about your mum, so I felt it was my duty to protect her from these other bandsmen.”