Bonfire Night 2025

Last week's slightly belated bonfire night session at the Dragon Folk Club saw the usual mix of Guy Fawkes, bonfires, and campfire songs as well as general winter themes and some serendipitous performances mixed in. more importantly it brought an impressive turn-out of singers including three first timers: Ander, Rebecca and Johan who all sang excellently.

First, and importantly, there will be no Dragon Folk Club session this Friday (14th November 2025) so we will delay our Remembrance themed evening (war, anti-war, remembrance, etc.) until the following Friday (21st November). In the meantime some of use may visit Folk at Frampton Cotterell this Friday.

Colin, MC as usual, set us a rhythm by starting the evening with Running bear (Jiles Perry Richardson "The Big Bopper"). Roger said it was the first record he bought.

Roger invited us to Keep right on to the end of the road (roud 23917 - Harry Lauder). Perhaps this was an early Remembrance contribution since Lauder wrote the song in honour of his son, killed in the First World War.

Heather gave us Wild mountain thyme (roud 541 - Francis McPeake).

Paul invoked his inner child with Michael Finnegan (roud 10541) and Denny made some of those assembled squirm with Nobody likes me (roud 12764).

Simon sang The ballad of Patch Eye and Meg (Michelle Shocked), relevant because it was first recorded as part of The Texas Campfire Tapes.

Sue sang of The leaving of Liverpool (roud 9435) and Bob brought the first rotation to an end with My girl Josephine (Fats Domino, Dave Bartholomew).

For now our visitors, appropriately to Bonfire Night, kept their powder dry, but that wasn't to last long.

Rebecca's songs were:

• The little beggarman (roud 900)
• Poor Guy (* Peter Christie) from the singing of Instant Sunshine
• Woad (roud 24978 - William Hope-Jones)

Ander sang:

• I wish I was back in Liverpool (Leon Rosselson, Stan Kelly-Bootle)

We also heard a duet from Rebecca and Ander on Queen of Waters (Nancy Kerr).

Johan gave us a traditional Swedish drinking song about Noah leaving his ark and growing vines to make wine: Gubben Noak (* Carl Michael Bellman). The tune reminded Denny of Come landlord fill the flowing bowl (roud 1234), and so she sang it.

There were just two songs which are not on YouTube and therefore not in the playlist linked from "a selection" below:

• Roger - Together we'll fight (*# Roger Stanleigh)
• Colin - I love to go a-gorging (#)

The remaining songs new to the Dragon database, but not necessarily never before sung at the club, were:

• Roger - Don't ever change (* Gerry Goffin, Carole King) - Rejected by The Everly Brothers, recorded by The Crickets and performed by The Beatles
• Heather - A winter's tale (* Mike Batt, Tim Rice)
• Colin - My leader (*)

It fell to Paul to finish the evening which he did with Cockles and mussels (roud 16932).

Now listen to a selection of songs sung during this session.

(Number of people present - 12 of whom 11 performed)

In the above report songs new to the Dragon database (though no always new to the club) are marked with an asterisk (*) and any songs not included in the "a selection" playlist are marked with a hash (#).

Halloween 2025

(Photo: Simon Meeds)

It was Halloween  (quite literally on the 31st) last week at the Dragon Folk Club and everyone joined in on the theme for at least part of the evening, which was great. This week's theme, optional as usual, is for Guy Fawkes Night or Bonfire Night if you prefer. Consider songs, poems, monologues and stories on themes such as Guy Fawkes, fire, fireworks and campfire songs along with anything else appropriate that you can think of.

Back to last week, and I'm keeping this report brief, Heather was asked to start us off. She was obviously looking forward to this week as she read her own poem "What, no fireworks?" (*#).

Simon got into the current theme with Zombie jamboree (Conrad Eugene Mauge, Jr or Winston O'Conner (Lord Intruder) - disputed). The linked version by King Flash is the first to change the original "Jumbee Jamboree" to "Zombie Jamboree".

Stuart and Carrie gave us Ghost (Kate Rusby) followed by Long black veil (roud 18510).

Colin, also on topic, sang Hallows Eve (Chris Hoban).

Paul read a poem, So many different lengths of time (* Brain Patten) and Denny completed the first rotation with Davey Dodds' The magpie (*). Brian Patten, on of the Liverpool poets, died in September.

Now with limited time I will simply list those remaining songs (and poem) which have been added to the Dragon database this week, though as usual it doesn't necessarily mean that none of them haven't been performed at the club before:

• Heather - NWR Halloween (*# Heather, poem about the National Women's Register, Chipping Sodbury branch)
• Stuart and Carrie - I wandered by a brookside (* Words by Richard Monckton Milnes, 1st Baron Hougthon; tune by Barbara Berry - Ed: I knew Barbara and I heard her sing it at least once, see the video for the full story)
• Paul - Sweet William's ghost (* roud 50, child 77)
• Stuart and Carrie - Wonderful life (* Black, real name Colin Vearncombe)
• Denny - The coal and Albert Berry (* Ted Edwards)

Stuart and Carrie closed the session with A horse with no name (Dewey Bunnell).

See you this week, 7th November, for (metaphorical) fireworks!

Now listen to a selection of songs sung during this session.

(Number of people present - 8 of whom 7 performed)

In the above report songs new to the Dragon database (though no always new to the club) are marked with an asterisk (*) and any songs not included in the "a selection" playlist are marked with a hash (#).