A CARRIBEAN choir, about to travel to Pembrokeshire for a concert, heaved a huge sigh of relief this week as Hurricane Maria narrowly missed their island home.

14 members of The Alliouagana Singers, a London-based choir from the British Overseas Territory of Montserrat will be performing in Llangwm on Saturday October 7, singing their usual mix of Caribbean music and songs.

Their manager Steve Adolphus was keeping his fingers crossed as Hurricane Maria passed.

“Montserrat seems to have again dodged a bullet – strong winds and lots of rain but nothing compared with other islands,” he said.

Members of the choir are no strangers to catastrophe.

In 1995 a massive volcanic eruption covered a large area of the island in lava flows, killing 19 people.

The population of 11,500 was moved to the north of the island, to neighbouring islands, or to Britain.

It is from the group evacuated to Britain that the choir was formed; their aim now is to preserve what they call their ‘Montserrat-ness’.

The choir has had some notable successes, performing at venues including the Royal Albert Hall and has also appeared on BBC programmes.

Earlier this year they went back to Montserrat for a week-long cultural festival around St Patrick’s Day, to celebrate the island’s Irish heritage handed down from early settlers.

And what of the name Alliouagana? According to Steve, it’s the native Carib people’s term for the island before it was ‘discovered’ by Christopher Columbus.

The Alliouagana choir will be appearing at St Jerome’s church, Llangwm, at 7.30pm on October 7.

Tickets, priced at £7.50 for adults, £3.50 for children, are available from Llangwm Village Shop or from 01437 899966. A collection will be taken during the concert for victims of the hurricanes.