Littleport loves music – and began to literally blow its own trumpet in 1880 when teenager Teddy Dring and a few other Littleport musicians founded the brass band - and he became their first bandmaster. It was, then, a male enclave.

The Littleport Society, founded over a century later in 1987, with both men and women on the committee, is a repository for hundreds of historic articles, artefacts and fascinating memorabilia - and has a silver mounted baton inscribed ‘EA Dring from Littleport Town Bandsmen 1916’ viewable every Tuesday afternoon at The Barn in Main Street.

Today’s brass band that has many talented women musicians as well as men, has another son of Littleport wielding his baton, Ian Johnson, a graduate of the Guildhall School and Cambridge, and under his musical direction the band are rehearsing hard for their next National Contest at Stevenage in March.

Littleport’s music-lovers can enjoy other sounds this weekend too.

The Littleport Ex-Servicemen’s Club has the ‘So Eighties’ duo Saturday February 3 (£3 members, £5 guests) and also on Saturday night, The Crown is rocking with the Max Headroom trio, free, from 9pm.

Then there’s the Swan at Sandhill 01353883960 and the Plough and Harrow on Ely Road.

Littleport has some good groups where residents can congregate together and meet others for a convivial hour or two on weekdays too, including The Vine Community Church on Globe Lane CB61PL that has a Men’s Shed Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays 9am-noon. They are a part of the UK Men’s Shed Association that is concerned with men’s health and wellbeing. Call for info: 07950680957.

Every month women have the Littleport Women’s Institute that next meets Tuesday evening February 13 at 7.15pm in Littleport Village Hall on Victoria Street for a quiz and its monthly fun competition. Appropriately, this one is a hand-made Valentine item! All women are made very welcome.

A major daily activities hub for both male and female is the Littleport Leisure Centre in Camel Road set in extensive grounds and well-worth a visit. And the meeting place for the popular Saturday Littleport parkrun.