SHE may not be Julie Andrews, but Lancaster's Isobel Hamid is about to hit the big time. The hills of, erm, Southport will be alive with the sound of music when 60-year-old Isobel takes to the stage in front of almost 2,000 people in the final of a national talent contest next month. The former principal of Lancaster's Victoria College won through to the national final of the Whitbread Senior Citizens Talent Contest with her rousing recital of songs from the Sound of Music in a recent local heat.

In fact, the vocal talent she displayed in the Morecambe round of the annual event was described by Whitbread's Peter Watkins as, "really beautiful with a lovely performance to match".

Now Isobel - who started singing with a performance on her kitchen table at just six years old - is busy rehearsing for the final to be held on Wednesday July 24.

She told the Citizen: "I think I have a fighting chance of winning and I do want to win. Who knows, there may be a few talent scouts in the audience?"

And this isn't the first time Isobel has been on the brink of fame. Back in 1972 she performed on the famous stage of the London Palladium in the final of another talent contest.

She didn't win that time but with £700 and the prestigious trophy up for grabs next month, who knows what will happen when Lancaster's finest takes on the 15 other finalists on the Southport stage.

If you want to see the event for yourself, Lancaster City Council's Arts and Events, based in Palatine Hall on Dalton Square, are running a coach to the final costing just £7.50 complete with a ticket to the show.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.