CHORISTERS all over East Lancs and West Yorkshire are hoping conductor Frank Smith will be back on his rostrum in time for a big date in the Municipal Hall, Colne.

Pensioner Frank is walking along the Inca Trail in the Peruvian Andes in South America, trying to raise more than £5,000 sponsorship for the British Heart Foundation.

The marathon hike, accompanied by Arion tenor colleague Keith Ashford, a Higherford industrial chemist, will be tough -- over rugged terrain and at high altitude.

Keen walker Frank, who lives in Bradley, near Keighley, should be home on September 20.

Ten days later, on September 30, more than 150 men and women singers from all three choirs he conducts -- the Arion, Colne Linden Singers and the Keighley Vocal Union -- will be assembled on the stage of the Colne Municipal Hall ready rehearsed for a joint concert 'With A Song In My Heart.'

The three-choirs concert, which promises to be one of the finest choral evening in the north-west for some time, with tickets at £5 a time, will also raise money for the British Heart Foundation.

Tickets for the concert are sill available from Pendle Leisure Services (01282 661234), Christine Whinnerah (862218) or Shirley Warner (813274).