Cow 'nods along' as choir's singing attracts herd

A Nottinghamshire choir attracted unexpected audience members during an outdoor performance, as a small herd of cows watched their show.

West Bridgford Social Singers were in Cambridge as part of a day trip, where they stopped for lunch and a scheduled performance at The Mill Pond.

During their cover of Yazoo's 1982 hit Only You, the Red Poll cattle wandered over to where the group was performing, with one cow seemingly "nodding along" to the music.

The cows stayed for several more songs including covers of Christina Perri's A Thousand Years and Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga's Shallow.

Jason Gilman-Hughes, chairman of the choir, said the whole day on 7 September was quite surreal.

"The cows were milling around which was quite surreal and very amusing, but then they stopped and then came closer to us as if they were listening to the singing," he said.

"It's funny, you just don't expect that. They seemed to really enjoy Yazoo."

The 51-year-old explained there had been some concern as to how the cows would behave during the performance.

"We were partly fearful for our conductor Simon because a cow came very close behind him and we were hoping he wouldn't get nudged," he said.

"They came very close to us but also just ignored us and went about their business.

"It was just ridiculous and very funny and yet slightly nerve-wracking because they're quite unpredictable."

Choir secretary Jan Perrett was one of those who had a close encounter with one of the animals.

"One of them was very close to me as I was stood on the end of the choir," she said.

"It seemed like it was nodding its head in time with the music. It was very strange."

The 70-year old has been with the group for more than 10 years and said she had never seen anything like it.

She added: "You forget how big cows are until you stand right next to one.

"They weren't intimidating or aggressive, they were just standing there and looking like they enjoyed our performance."

The cows follow the tradition of "common grazing", which allows them to roam freely and to graze in select areas across Cambridge, including next to Mill Pond, where the performance was taking place.

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