Roger Wilco

Fishing boat with attendant gulls on Loch Hourn
(Photo: Simon Meeds)

We initially thought we would be four singers at the Dragon Folk Club last Friday, but then Roger turned up to make a perfectly quorate fivesome. It was Roger who added the most "new" songs to the Dragon database as you will see in this report.

Colin, our regular MC, started us off with The fox and the hare (roud 1140) followed by Denny who gave us Wings (Brian Bedford).

Paul proposed The Farmer's Toast (roud 1603) and Simon reprised his signature King of Rome (Dave Sudbury) after being disappointed with his own showing the previous week. And so ended the first rotation.

Second time around Colin sang the Song of the digger (* Neil Colquhoun with chorus words from a poem by William Satchell). Before it came round to Colin again Roger arrived and his first song of the evening was Flora (roud 957, laws P29).

It was Roger who sang Blueberry Hill (* Vincent Rose, Larry Stock, Al Lewis) followed by Colin with Sailing on the briny sea (# Miles Wootton).

Roger gave us two of his own songs: Goodbye I'll Try (*# Roger Stanleigh) and Dry your eyes (# Roger Stanleigh).

Colin added to the database a comedy song: The Dundee cat (* Matt McGinn) and the last "new" song of the evening came from Roger with The air that I breathe (* Albert Hammond, Michael Hazlewood).

The final song of the evening, The Mingulay boat song (Sir Hugh S Roberton) came from Paul.

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

(Number of people present - 5 of whom 5 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 (#).

The gathering

George Müller

Last week's Dragon Folk Club session was notable mostly for the presence of first time visitor, Gavin who sang entirely his own songs, most of which were about local events and people. He had been planning on visiting us for some time and last week the stars aligned. He seemed to enjoy the evening and we enjoyed his singing, so let's hope he returns soon.

Not least with Gavin's presence there were quite a number of songs which were new to the Dragon database (if not in all cases new to the club) so I'll simply mark them with an asterisk (*). There were also a few which aren't in the playlist linked from "a selection" below, so I'll mark those with a hash (#).

Colin, the MC as usual, started things off with Let union be in all our hearts (* roud 1238) and Simon followed that with Tom Paine's bones (Graham Moore).

Gavin informed us about the Cooper's Hill cheese-rolling with his song Cheese rolling (* Gavin Ball).

He says he may attend the event one day, but not to take part - for that you have to be slightly crazy and prepared for the possibility of coming home with broken bones.

Denny gave us Young banker (roud 3321) before Paul took us back to the cultured milk with Les Barker's Hard cheese of old England. That was really the end of the first rotation, but when Steve arrived a little later his first song was Farmer's toast (roud 1603).

Colin's second song of the evening was The saucy Arethusa (* roud 12675), the words of which are attributes to Prince Hoare while the tune is Turlough O'Carolan's tune Miss MacDermott also used for The Princess Royal. The subject of the song is HMS Arethusa, originally a French frigate (Aréthuse) launched in 1757 and captured by the British in 1759. She remained in Royal Navy service for twenty years until she was wrecked off Ushant after being badly damaged in battle.

As it tradition on his first visit I will mention all of Gavin's songs although being self-penned they would have been mentioned anyway since they were all having their Dragon debut:

• I want to win the FA Cup (*# Gavin Ball)
• W G Grace (* Gavin Ball) - about the famous cricketer of that name
• Don't play with fire (* Gavin Ball) - A tribute to Fleur Lombard, a Bristol firefighter who lost her life dealing with an incident of arson
• Money was the reason (*# Gavin Ball)
• George Muller (*# Gavin Ball) - About Christian evangelist and director of Bristol's Ashley Down orphanage, George Müller
• Beard tax (* Gavin Ball) - about one of Peter the Great's bold and controversial attempts to civilise 18th century Russia.

Denny introduced us to the thoroughly English concept of A nice cup of tea (* Henry Sullivan, A P Herbert) while Colin took us across the pond for The night they drove old Dixie down (* Robbie Robertson) before sailing the seas with Tom Lewis for Recall.

I wonder whether it was Denny's singing of The Leezie Lindsay (roud 94, child 226 - Robert Burns) which includes the lines "For my name is Lord Ronald McDonald, a chieftain of high degree" that prompted Colin to dig out Carol McNelly's parody of Ralph McTell's Streets of London that is McDonald's kitchen (*)?

The last song of the evening was When all men sing (Keith Scowcroft, Derek Gifford) which came from Denny, accompanied by all present.

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

(Number of people present - 6 of whom 6 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 George's Day 2017

Raphael - Saint George and the Dragon, 1506

It was good to see Maggie S at last week's session, and we were joined by two very welcome visitors from Yorkshire who didn't want to sing but did want to publicise the Cleckheaton Folk Festival which takes place in June/July, so there we are, I've done it. It will also appear on our links page.

It was two days before St George's day so the theme was George, England, dragons and anything else that seemed appropriate.

Colin as MC asked Steve C to start us off which he did with Jock Stewart (Roud 975) which wasn't exactly to theme but we don't mind that.

Derek had other plans for the evening's theme but started off with a token song from Norfolk: The Bailiff's Daughter Of Islington (Roud 483, Child 105).

Colin was first to really hit the theme will full force, singing Billy Bragg's Hard Times Of Old England Retold.