Few clubs can claim to have been meeting every week without fail for a few years, let alone for more than 60. 

But the Carlisle Jazz Club's commitment to the musical genre knows no bounds. 

It was set up in the late 1950s and has enjoyed various venues and hundreds of different members, with a different jazz band entertaining them each week. 

The group meets at Carlisle Rugby Club at 8.30pm on Thursdays, where attendees can pay for an evening's entertainment, or £5 for a monthly membership to reduce the price.

News and Star: The audience at Carlisle Rugby ClubThe audience at Carlisle Rugby Club (Image: Jimmy Moorhouse)

Pam Smith, president of the Jazz Club, has been with the club since its beginning, and previously served as chairman for 11 years. 

I sat with committee members Pam, Catherine Chambers, Alan Tiffen and Liz Belford, as local jazz band About Time provided the foot-tapping entertainment.

Pam said: "All of our husbands played jazz. We're like jazz widows. We've known each other for a long time. We have a wonderful committee and we all get on very well.

"We were flooded in 2005 and 2015 and had to go to the Creighton Rugby Club. We had a beautiful white grand piano with an iron frame that was donated to us and it floated away in the floods."

Other local jazz clubs, including ones in Dumfries and Kendal, have been forced to close in recent years, but Carlisle is committed to showcasing all of the talent that Cumbria has to offer. 

News and Star: About Time provided the entertainmentAbout Time provided the entertainment (Image: Jimmy Moorhouse)

And the club is keen to attract the younger generation to jazz, through its student offer of £5 tickets. 

Pam added: "We have our student discount because we want to encourage a younger audience. If we know someone who is starting to play, we would always ask them to come along."

About Time, led by Aggie Dobson, earned a warm applause as they performed classics such as moon river, I say a little prayer and on the sunny side of the street.

In a society dominated by health treatments and quick fix therapies, perhaps it is 'about time' you visited Carlisle Jazz Club for a night of soul-soothing sounds.