22 February

Tonight's session was enjoyable and thankfully uneventful after last week's shambles. Not that the shambles was the folk club's fault. While the number of people present was relatively small, the music kept coming. Notably, Derek sang the Dowy Dens of Yarrow, which is noted in his profile as the song which introduced him to British folk music.

Maggie announced that there will be a special event on 12th April in aid of BUST, the Southmead Breast Care Unit Support Trust. There is a special blog article about it, so please have a look there.

Next week is St David's day, so Welsh themed songs seem appropriate, though don't worry too much if you can't stick to the theme.

Derek - Profile

This article is one of a series on regulars at the club.

Derek has been coming along to the Dragon Folk Club since about 2010. He specialises in unaccompanied traditional British folk songs and ballads.

He was brought up in the 1960s when folk song (of a sort) was being played as pop. In time he moved on to such artists as Woody Guthrie and Sarah Ogan Gunning. Then one day he heard a recording of Willie Scott singing the Dowy Dens of Yarrow. At that, Derek gave up Americana and has spent the last 40 years studying and singing British folk songs.

As part of a tidy-up this profile entry has been moved to archive status. Derek attended a Dragon Folk Club session in  May 2025. We very much hope to see him again.