Give me that old time religion

(Photo: Simon Meeds)

It'll be a concise report of last week's session but I hope it will still give you a flavour of what happened.

There was a tongue in cheek note at the end of the previous week's blog report that there might be a theme of carrier bags. Colin started us off with his one plastic bag song: Benledi Street Ballad. Apparently Coin found three other songs about bags but hadn't been able to prepare them for performance.

I don't think Derek's Lake of Coolfin (Roud 189, Laws Q33) had anything to do with bags of any kind and neither did Geoff's first: Master McGrath (James Custer, Roud V32683).

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).