Great night – Cainer Horah!

I have got to admit, I had never heard of Daniel Cainer when our warden Harold Schogger (of Bridge fame) suggested we get him to perform at our Synagogue.
Who is this comedian, I thought?
Well – that was my first mistake!

Daniel is a master storyteller, musician, composer, comedian and more. A modern day version of a French troubadour – a Jewish Victoria Wood. Those who don’t know who Victoria Wood is (myself included until researching for this article) probably never witnessed the playing of an LP, and can’t imagine what it must have been like before the iphone.

Suffice to say – I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the evening. OK so the average age of attendees was closer to 100 but nevertheless those of us younger citizens who attended really did enjoy ourselves.

Daniel attempts to look at his life and tell a story of where he comes from, his family history as well as communal life and slightly more risqué subjects.

He has a charming and very emotive way of telling a story. There’s a mix of a Colm Wilkinson, Michael Crawford and Mr Bean in this man that makes for totally captivating storytelling.

His songs are so emotive and beautiful. I found the music to “G-d Knows Where”, particularly beautiful. “Bad Rabbi” was probably the funniest and most talked about song. Yes, it was slightly naughty and a few people did take offence, but even I as the Chazzan could appreciate the cleverness and mischievousness of this piece.

It must be made clear at this time that the organisers have pointed out that the views expressed by this man are just that – his views and bear no resemblance to our Rabbi or Chazzan!

As with any Jewish function, a get together is of no consequence unless there is food and lots of it.

At Raquel’s suggestion we went for a Shawarma bar with Chicken and a delicious array of salads. This was a hit, with everyone asking where we got the food from. Being Chanukah, we completed our gluttony with an abundance of doughnuts.

Thanks must go to Raquel for preparing the hall and food and Harold for suggesting this great event. We look forward to our next Schogger event very soon.