Boxing Day 2019

Charlie Kimber beside William Kimber’s grave
(Photo: Trevor Coppock, 1994)

Oh dear, to say we were thin on the ground last week for our "Boxing Day" session is a bit of an understatement. Nevertheless the three of us soldiered on at least for a slightly shorter time than usual. This Friday's theme will predictably be New Year. I am sure there will be some wassailing if Mike hasn't already worn all the songs out, and perhaps we will find some other appropriate festivals or anniversaries. If you can add something to the mix, we need you, and if you would just like to come and see what we do, you are very welcome too.

Simon took on the role of MC last week and raised the curtain with John Conolly's Punch And Judy Man. Equally off-topic but inspired by the photograph on last week's blog report, which he apparently didn't find cute, Derek sang The Silkie Of Sule Skerrie (Roud 197, Child 113). Mike was already into the New Year with The Begging Wassail (Roud 209).

Derek was the only one of us with properly themed songs for Boxing Day (actually Mike sang one the previous week), when lads in Ireland, the Isle of Man, Wales and other places around Europe would hunt down a wren and as far as I can tell, parade it around the town while begging for money. Derek's wren songs were Hunt The Wren (Roud 236), The Boys Of Barr Na Sráide (Sigerson Clifford) and The Wren Boys Song (Roud 19109), which was the the final song of the evening.

Last of 2017

Eurasian Wren with hatchlings

Last week's session on 22 December turned out to be the last of the year. Those present decided to allow the club to have a week off this Friday and return on 5 January 2018 to start the year.

Unfortunately we closed the year with a disappointing turn-out of three. We might have left without singing a song since four is usually considered a quorum except that Colin was expecting a newcomer to turn up but that didn't happen.

So, we carried on regardless and sang a total of twelve songs each! Derek, who had been absent for the previous week's Christmas theme, brought forward some songs on that theme and some for Boxing Day (the hunting of the wren). Cleverly he eked these out by singing one, The Cherry Tree Carol (Roud 453, Child 54) in two parts on different rounds, and splitting two songs which he usually sings together: The Wren (Roud 19109) and The Boys Of Barr Na Sráide (Sigerson Clifford).

New Year 2017

The Bridge Inn, Shortwood; our new venue(photo: Jonathan Billinger)

Last Friday was our first session back in our new, old venue, The Bridge Inn at Shortwood (BS16 9NG). Expect us to be there every Friday night from 8:15pm unless otherwise posted on this blog and the Facebook group.

Before I get down to last week's report I was asked to mention one "parish notice". Roger and John have hired the Kingfisher Café in Fishponds on Thursday 26 January from 8pm to 9:30pm for anyone to come and sing, play, read poetry or anything within reason in aid of the CLIC Sargent charity, specifically to help the charity deal with the fire that damaged its shop at Fishponds in December. CLIC Sargent supports children and young people with cancer.

New Year and matters arising

Wren (photo by Alden Chadwick)

It was a perfectly respectable turnout for the first session of 2016. We had been promised songs on themes to cover the whole period between Christmas and 8 January, which is pretty much what we got.

Colin was MC and he asked Derek to start us off. Derek said he had to start off in his traditional way with Miner's Dream of Home (Roud 1749) - "For the bells were ringing the old year out, And the new year in".

New Venue, smashing evening

Now we are well installed in our new venue, the New Inn, Westerleigh, and what a night. Everyone I spoke to about it thought it was much better than the previous venue, and there was a bumper turnout of 21 people with all but 5 performing. I spoke to the landlord and even he was impressed by the turnout given that it was 2 January. So everyone's happy. Please help us to keep it that way by coming along to a session to try out the new venue, and returning often if you like it. Entry is still free with a raffle held at the interval.

Mike and Maggie decided they would leave at the interval, so Richard ably MCed the evening, getting Mike to kick off a slightly earlier than usual start with Richard Thompson's We Sing Hallelujah.