June continues with slightly risqué songs

We haven't had any themes recently but as usual this week people found their own minor themes, and that's what I will focus on here.

Mike kicked off the evening, remembering that 2013 marks 26 years since the Northern Ireland peace process was started following the Remembrance Day bombing in Enniskillen. He sang The Enniskillen Dragoons.

Derek continued his June theme singing an Irish version of The Jug of Punch with a very complex lilting chorus (something like this). He also sang Bonnie bunch of roses, a song not only about June but about Napoleon, another mini theme he continued with The dream of Napoleon. Simon seemed to have lost the plot when Galway Shawl mentioned May rather than June but we'll draw a veil over that.

Colin sang The close shave which started a transvestite theme, followed by Derek with My proper name is Clarence. Talk during the break of singers concentrating so much on getting one thing right that they get the wrong words led into discussion of Mondegreens, which quickly descended to the usual depths. In fact it led Robin to make a connection from suspenders to a song which he sang in the second half: Jenny Wren bride. Colin sang Edward Lear's Owl and the Pussycat which was seen as incorporating a number of double-entendres but the question was whether they would have been such in Lear's time. Along a similar line, Gary told of an incident at the Cleethorpes Folk Festival where a group sang very seriously Thomas Campion's 1613 Never Weather Beaten Sail but caused great hilarity among a group of well oiled folkies at the back of the room; it led John Conolly to write his own version of the song. Gary tried to sing a hybrid of the two versions but couldn't quite manage to keep a straight face while singing it.

A special mention has to be made of the song which Maggie calls Pink Bow-wow. It isn't about a prettily pampered poodle pooch but rather the song Big Bow Wow, which Mike sings.

I won't be at the club for at least three of the next four weeks, so I have asked Maggie to look out for volunteers to write short accounts of the sessions I miss. Any such reports can be sent to me by email and I will get them up on the blog as quickly as I can. Thank you in advance to anyone who might volunteer (or be volunteered). To those reading the blog, apologies if reports are lacking or delayed in the next few weeks. Service should return to normal in the second half of July.