St David's Day 2022

(Photo: Simon Meeds)

We're cooking on gas now. Five people two weeks in a row. This is what I'm talking about! Keep them coming and we'll be back to a sustainable, post-COVID sing-around club before you know it.

The optional theme last Friday was Wales and St David. Some stuck to it, others found tenuous links: very tenuous in some cases. It was great to see Gary pay us a visit after a long absence.

Colin, playing MC, started us off with Welsh History 101B (Heather Rose Jones). This was followed by Gary with his self-penned The Cobblestones of Carter Street. It was a sad tale of his childhood in Salford, where his mother tried to persuade him that it was the taunting by Gary and his friends which led to the suicide of the local rag and bone man.

Simon went topical rather than Welsh with The Marsh Family's version of the John Tams / traditional Over the Hills and Far Away (roud 3098). The family's version addresses the current crisis in Ukraine.

Mike went back to Wales with Max Boyce's Duw it's Hard. Geoff came through the door just as it was his turn to sing, and he brought out Roger Miller's King of the Road, to which we were all able to sing along.

I'll leave you to listen to most of the songs that were sung on the "a selection" link, and skip straight to the last round of four, Mike having left earlier in the evening. It started with Colin, still soldiering on with the Welsh theme and singing Men of Harlech (roud 24790, English words by Thomas Oliphant). Gary sang his own song The Loam and the Clay. Simon gave us Elizabeth Padgett's song The Plover Catcher about Lincolnshire in wartime.

Finally, it fell to Geoff to close the evening, which he did with The Kerry Recruit (roud 520, laws J8).

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

(Number of people present - 5 of whom 5 performed)

St David's Day 2020

Senedd building, Cardiff (Photo: Simon Meeds)

Just two days early, we convened for a St David's Day session. Mel, on his third, and we hope now regular, visit to the club was our token Welshman. He was joined by occasional visitors Chris S, Steve C and Jane, all most welcome.

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.

St David's Day 2019

Last week's session was on St David's Day so that was our theme. Unfortunately we were still at rock bottom for attendance. We manage to have good sessions but it would be a lot more pleasure if you were with us to add your contributions and to enjoy the banter.

Colin ably MCed as usual and introduced the theme with Welsh History 101 by Heather Rose Jones.

Derek's first contribution may seem a little negative about those from across the Wye but in fact he has plenty of historical justification for singing Taffy Was A Welshman (Roud 19237) because the first verse appeared in something like its current form in Nancy Cock's Pretty Song Book, printed in London in about 1780.

More Of Your Nonsense

Old man of Port Grigor
(image: Edward Lear, adapted by Goetz Kluge)

With Derek back in the fold last week I have an apology to make. The week before, he wasn't apparently watching Glamorgan beat Gloucestershire at cricket, though he would have rather been doing so than what he was doing - hearing a mechanic make the traditional mechanic's sound of air inhaled through teeth while considering the repairs necessary to Derek's car which was in serious ill health.

Anyway, straight on to the music, Colin as MC kicked off with what he described as a bit of nonsense... The Tailor And The Mouse (Roud 16577).

Centenary of Passchendaele

Australian gunners on a duckboard track in
Château Wood near Hooge, 29 October 1917
(Photo: Frank Hurley)

We were about to start with only three of us at last week's session when Mike came through the door with his canine companion, Indy. As he left for the bar I think it was Colin who suggested we start and Derek who insisted we wait for Mike to return. And so we started with four, plus dog. But before we were through a song or two Chris and Roger arrived to make us properly quorate.

Colin was MC and started the singing with Lamorna (Roud 16636), a song from Cornwall; a version of a song from Manchester called Pomona.

Simon was next to sing with No Sir No (Roud 146). Derek noted this week's centenary of Passchendaele, the Third Battle of Ypres and sang what he claimed was the Copper Family's version of Two Young Brethren (Roud 202). Well the linked version by Folly Bridge appears to be faithful to the Copper's but isn't particularly close to what Derek sang. In any case, Mike commented in relation to Derek's version that his friend Dave Marshall sang very similar words but had two further verses, I believe making more of the brewing of the harvest to make beer.

Aberfan 50

Rescuers working at the site of the Aberfan disaster

Last week's session had no official theme but one major theme emerged. It was the 50th anniversary of the Aberfan disaster when a colliery spoil tip collapsed, killing 116 children and 28 adults. This inspired many of the songs though some other minor themes also emerged.

Colin was MC and Derek started the Aberfan theme with a song which wasn't written about that disaster but had an appropriate feel: Number Two Top Seam (Roger Watson).

Mike sang a version of Max Boyce's Duw It's Hard with a verse about Aberfan. Geoff sang New York Mining Disaster 1941 (Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb), ostensibly about a fictional American disaster which, although Geoff didn't realise it when he sung the song, was actually inspired by the Aberfan disaster.

Yet another musical miscellany

The Mary Rose in a battle with seven Algerine corsairs
(an engraving by Wenceslas Hollar
who was on the ship at the time)

There was no theme for last week's session so we were free to come up with clusters of songs around various topics.

Colin was the MC and Mike kicked us off with the topical The Twenty Fourth of February (Roud 951) (sorry I couldn't find a recording in English), although he sang "twenty third". Apparently it describes a battle which took place on 29 December 1669 where Captain John Kempthorne on the fifth Mary Rose saved a convoy from attack by seven ships of Algerine pirates. He was knighted for this action.

St David's Day 2015

Celebrating St David’s Day in Barmouth

The important factor which both constitutes news and explains the whole session is that there will be no Dragon Folk Club on 27 February but we will be back on Friday 6 March at the usual venue. It's simply a matter of our room being booked for another function. We were given at least two weeks' notice and the possibility of an alternative night, which was nice. Unfortunately the alternative night didn't work for enough of the regulars, so we're having a week off.

This hiatus meant that we wouldn't be meeting any closer to St David's day, so adopted Welshman, Richard, who MCed for the evening, announced at the last moment that. All things Welsh would be the theme. Given that there had been no leek (sic) of this information beforehand the level of preparedness was fairly low, except for Richard himself, who had obviously been planning it.