Halloween 2023

Stanton Drew stone circle and church
(Photo: Simon Meeds)

Last week's Dragon Folk Club session was our annual Halloween themed evening. This Friday (3rd November) will be Guy Fawkes, Bonfire Night, Campfire Songs and anything else related that you can think of. Yes, we really are in theme season with more to come very soon.

Back to last week, there were seven singers, which isn't too shabby. A good variety of songs were sung including plenty on theme or close to it. I won't attempt to comment on who hit the theme and who didn't because in some cases it would be debatable anyway. In any case I'm short of time so it's a brief report this week and I suggest you give the playlist linked below from "a selection" a listen and see for yourself what we did.

A brief run-down of the first rotation gives us:

• Chris - The lark in the clear air (roud 24791 - Sir Samuel Ferguson)
• Roger - Woad (roud 24978 - William Hope-Jones)
• John - Satan, your kingdom must come down (roud 5737)
• Colin - The devil's nine questions (roud 161, child 1) - a version of Riddles wisely expounded
• Paul - Sweet William's ghost (roud 50, child 77)
• Denny - The wizard of Alderley Edge (Pete Coe)
• Simon - The souling song (roud 304)

Songs new to the Dragon database, but not necessarily to the club were:

• John - Into the mystic (Van Morrison)
• John - Where the streets have no name (Bono, U2)
• Colin - The cockroach that ate Cincinatti (Doug Drill)
• Colin - Farmer's curst wife (roud 160) - an American version of The devil and the farmer's wife

Simon finished the evening with the challenging sing-along which is The burning times (Charlie Murphy).

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

(Number of people present - 7 of whom 7 performed)

To far Amerikay and back

Vicky and Richard (Cooper and Toller)

There were 12 people at last week's Dragon Folk Club session, which is much more like it than recently. We welcomed Tony and Hillary back after a break, albeit that their visit was short and sweet. We were also pleased to see Vicky and Richard (Cooper and Toller) back for a second visit - we hope there are many more to come.

First the parish notices: this Friday (24 February) we need all the support we can muster since two of our regulars won't be around. If you haven't been to see us for a while or even have never been before, this is the time to find your way to The Bridge. Then next week (3 March) is our St David's Day special, so songs and tunes from or about Wales (or by extension usually also whales) will be very welcome though as usual the theme is optional.

Back to last week's report and Colin was MC as usual, getting Geoff to start us off. Geoff told us of an oversized hand gun which Marty Robbins found in a gunshop and sang the song which came from that occasion: Big Iron. This started a flurry of American songs.

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers

photo by Hamish McConnochie

Many of us were afraid that the above words, famously used by Henry V on his last visit to the club (in those days still at Iron Acton) would be needed to describe this week's meeting, given that regulars Mike, Maggie S, Colin, Simon and Martin Carthy were all away on jaunts.

But happily a respectable 8 (7 singers) appeared and when Roger appropriately for the time of year sang Kurt Weill's September Song it was merely the days, not the audience, which had 'dwindled down to a precious few.'