St George's Day 2025

The session less Ian who was taking the photo
(Photo: Ian Garbutt)

With St George's Day officially moved to 28th April this year the Dragon Folk Club's Friday session with that theme was just three days early. We had a good gathering, which included on first time visitor, Ian, who shared with us his self-penned songs and a hint of the style of his band, Blue Badgers (nothing to do with disability by the way).

It seems we are in the midst of a theme season, so I will tell you that this Friday (2nd May) will be a May Day theme, so "I walked out on a May morning..." could be a very good way to start a song. Next week (9th May) will mark VE Day (also just one day late), and that should bring out some war and anti-war songs. Of course all of our themes are optional and whatever I say anything goes as long as it's acoustic.

Back to last week, Paul was asked to start and so he did, right on theme with St George and the dragon (Pauline Willoughby). Denny claimed her song Worcester city (* roud 218), being about an English place, was good enough to be on theme and so it was.

Colin hit the mark with Richard Thompson's The new St George.

Roger S apologised for not bringing along songs that were aimed at the theme, but we promised to find links somewhere. His first song of the evening was If I were a carpenter (Tim Hardin).

Ian's first song was his own as were all that he sang during the session. Matilda (*# Ian Garbutt) is about Empress Matilda. Ian, who played the guitar and sang for us, told us that he played bass guitar and whistle in his band, but he didn't mention that he also plays trombone, saxophone and clarinet. That's a bit impressive!

Simon gave us Marriott Edgar's monologue George and the dragon before Steve C completed the first rotation with Stan Rogers' Field behind the plow (sic).

Roger's second song was the self-penned Global meltdown (*# Roger Stanleigh) and Ian's, called Featherweed (* Ian Garbutt), recalled a cycling trip to the Hebrides. As promised, a tenuous link to the theme was found from Roger's song since it mentioned fire, as breathed by dragons.

Simon sang Puff and bold St George (#), written to the tune of Puff the magic dragon (Leonard Lipton, Peter Yarrow) by friend of the club, Richard Gillion.

Denny was next with something new for the Dragon when she used her voice to "play" the tune Barwick green (*). It is most famously the theme tune for The Archers on BBC Radio 4, but predates even "the world's longest-running present-day drama by number of episodes", having been composed in 1924 by Arthur Wood. The Archers started on 29th May 1950. The oldest existing recording of The Archers is from 11th March 1952.

Ian sang The Volunteer (* Ian Garbutt), inspired by the figurehead of a small wooden ketch (65 tons, built 1861) that supplied the Isles of Scilly with coal: one of thirty such figureheads on display at The Valhalla Museum, on Tresco, Isles of Scilly.

Roger sang a song called Dry your eyes (*#) which I have been unable to trace based on the information I have. Its first line was "I can see the fear showing in your pretty blue eyes". Roger writes songs, so it may be one of his own, or it may not be.

Ian's penultimate song of the evening was The battle (* Ian Garbutt).

Colin's last song was one I have struggled with before. I assume it's called Britannia waives the rules (#), but I know nothing else about it.

Ian finished off the evening with everyone joining in on the chorus of Walking down The Chums (* Ian Garbutt) about a Bristol micropub of that name where his band used to play and hang out.

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

(Number of people present - 7 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 songs not to be found in the playlist linked from "a selection" are marked with a hash (#).

Saint George's Day 2024

Saint George slaying the dragon
(AI image by Stable Diffusion)

Last week's Dragon Folk Club session had Saint George's Day as its theme. Unfortunately we were still in the midst of a period of absence of some of our stalwarts and so just two singers met to celebrate England's patron saint.

Colin took the obvious, but more challenging approach of singing songs of Saint George, England and dragons. Some were funny, some were irreverent, but all were definitely on topic.

Meanwhile Simon took a broader approach, singing songs on those topics, but also incorporating some of Saint George's other patronages, including soldiers, shepherds, scouting, syphilis and skin diseases (all the "s"s in fact!).

Colin as MC started us off with John Kirkpatrick's Saint George. You may note that the linked recording isn't of John Kirkpatrick, but of Waterson:Carthy. The reason is simple: Colin, mostly like Waterson:Carthy, sang the version of the song from Kirkpatrick's Going Spare album, but all YouTube recordings I've found of him singing his own song it is the later version from his Make No Bones album.

Simon followed with Fathom the bowl (roud 880).

There were a four songs from the evening which don't appear in the YouTube playlist linked from "a selection" below. First came Raise the white dragon of England written by our friend Gary Hopwood and sung by Colin. This is a campaign song for recognition that George was not the original patron Saint of England and that according to Gary the honour goes to Edmund the Martyr. Edmund's cult flourished during the Early and High Middle Ages, and he and Edward the Confessor were regarded as the patron saints of medieval England until they were replaced by Saint George in the 15th century.

The next unrecorded song to be sung was brought to us by Simon from the pen of our friend Richard Gillion, the song being Puff and bold Saint George which has the dragon being a local chap who ends up in the service of the council.

Colin sang a Kipper Family treatment of the theme, The old Saint George (Chris Sugden), and the final un-tubed song was The perils of a carnivorous diet from Colin's own pen.

Simon finished off the evening with Rout of the blues (roud 21098).

This Friday's session will have no theme, so as usual that means any type of performance is just fine as long as it's acoustic.

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

(Number of people present - 2 of whom 2 performed)