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| Senedd building, Cardiff (Photo: Simon Meeds) |
Colin was absent, still looking after his wife, to whom we naturally send our best wishes, so Simon filled in as MC and asked Derek, who had narrowly beaten him to the pub, to start off the session.
Derek offered up a version of Lord Randall (Roud 10, Child 12), which he performed partly in Welsh.
Simon's offerings in the first half were, shall we say, more subtly Welsh connected. Michelle Shocked's Memories Of East Texas for example, simply mentions wild daffodils.
Mike invoked that iconic Welshman, Max Boyce, with Duw It's Hard. Mel reminded us of the Chartist Doctor Price (Meic Stephens) who, among other things, advocated cremation of the dead. Mike said that every British crematorium has a memento of Price; at nearby Westerleigh it is a plaque inside the furnace which bears his name.
Steve C said he didn't have anything specifically Welsh but sang The Farmer's Toast (Roud 1603), suggesting that many people in Wales are farmers; or is that many farmers are Welsh?
Jane vowed to set her stories in Wales, and so she did by placing a story of Valentine's Day in a very smart restaurant which is apparently in the vicinity of Abergavenny.
Geoff finished off the first round with Everybody's Rich But Us (Rod McKuen).
Mike's second and final contribution of the evening before an early exit was Hob Y Deri Dando, a song partly in slightly dodgy Welsh, and with connections to Tiger Bay. Mel mentioned that his Down In Those Valleys (Roud 22910) was collected in Barry.
Jane's second story of the evening was a proper Welsh one, the well-known tale of Llewellyn and Gelert.
Derek said he was reminded by Mike's mention of Tiger Bay that he could sing a song he doesn't usually associate with Welsh themes. The song was The Pilots Of Tiger Bay. Apparently "Tiger Bay" was a name used for areas of London and Belfast as well as Cardiff, and this song was recorded by James Carpenter in the 1920s from John Gerries, a seaman from South Shields.
Chris S was prepared to perform but asked for words to something he could do. Simon happened to have honorary Welshman Les Barker's book Fidofax, so through the evening Chris read The Ice Cream Bells of Porthcawl (helped by Derek with "Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch"), The Photocopier and, by special request of Jane, Have You Got Any News Of The Iceberg.
After Steve sang When Adam Was First Created (Roud 728) Jane felt she ought to put the record straight with a story of the advice which God gave to Eve, including to let Adam believe he was created first.
Simon's Welsh connections in the second half weren't quite as tenuous as those of the first, being Debbie Cook's Day Trip To Bangor. Yes, it is the Welsh Bangor, which it was said stood in for the seaside town of Rhyl simply because it scanned, much to the dismay of the people of Rhyl - the writer however denies the story and says it's simply the only town on the North coast of Wales that she knew. Simon's other second half contribution was Nobby Dye's Bristol-based Welsh Back Quay.
Derek was conscious that singing the traditional, eighteenth century, Taffy Was A Welshman (Roud 19237) might a little rich in the presence of an actual Welshman, so he seasoned it with verses from Alun Rees' more Cymru-friendly version.
Mel's final song, So Here's To You (Alan Bell), would have been an appropriate way to end the evening but Simon decided there was time for just one more and that was provided by Steve C in the shape of The Rare Ould Times (Pete St John).
Now listen to a selection of songs sung during this session.
(Number of people present - 8, of whom 8 performed)
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