THIS WEEK AT THE STABLES: STARRING DAME CLEO LAINE, RICHARD DURRANT, BIG COUNTRY, MOSTLY AUTUMN AND MORE...

Dame Cleo Laine's annual festive stint at The Stables is a Christmas tradition, and she returns to the Wavendon stage on Thursday (Dec 11) and nightly through to Saturday (Dec 13). The exceptional singer we are proud to call one of MKs own will be joined in musical play by her usual fabulous array of talented family and friends, including daughter Jacqui: "" Christmas is a time for family gatherings, friendship, music , love and laughter. The family Christmas shows at The Stables are a little slice of our family Dankworth Xmas time!" she told us. "I am looking forward to sharing it with you." Chris Wood plays Stage 2 on Friday (Dec 12) and Hedna's Vintage Nightclub will be in the snug on Saturday, but both of those events are fully booked. Mostly Autumn, the 70s influenced rockers, will plug in at the haunt on Sunday (Dec 14) evening, capturing all of the wow-factor from the bygone era, while also pushing forward with a new freshness. in 1984, Scottish mob Big Country released their second album, Steeltown. The disc had been recorded in Stockholm, at ABBA's Polar Studios, and was released while the UK was in the grip of the Miners Strike. "We started work on Steeltown back in June 1984 at Abba's studio," recalls guitarist Bruce Watson. "We worked alongside Steve (Lillywhite, producer) in Studio One as Tim Rice and Adrian Lloyd Webber worked on Chess next door in Studio Two. "Stockholm felt like the most expensive place on earth - it's as if we were on a different planet to how things were back home - my Dad was a miner, so what we did was knuckle down to hard work for six weeks," he added. That album debuted at the Number One spot and went on to become a multi-million seller. On Monday (Dec 15) the band will play songs from the album (remember classics like Fields of Fire and In a Big Country), alongside more recent material. Richard Durrant (above) steps up on Tuesday, with his Candlelit Christmas Concert. The UKs only barefoot, stand-up, un-classical guitarist will engage his audience with 'an eclectic show incorporating sounds, imagery and commissioned artwork in a prismatic display that can best be described as an everyman's performance.' Highlights will include English carols, European Christmas songs and his superb guitar suite, The Polar Bear - with narration recorded by comedy star Barry Cryer. By also featuring material taken from his album, Christmas Guitars, the listener will be rewarded with a kaleidoscopic vision of what the season of goodwill means to our performer, and will evoke the Christian and pagan significance of this time of the year. Singer Amy Kakoura will accompany Richard at the show. On Wednesday evening, Patti Boulaye will be in cabaret. A winner of ITVs New Faces talent show, Patti has spent a life of stage, recorded nine albums and 25 singles and has performed for some spectacular audiences too - for Prince Hassan in Jordan through to Michael Jackson's birthday in LA. To book tickets visit www.stables.org or call 01908 280800.